What is this flying insect? There were quite a lot of them gathered on the wall of my father's house in Connemara. – Tom Seoighe, Moycullen, Co Galway
It is probably a hatch of cinnabar moths. There must have been nearby ragwort or groundsel, the food plants of the caterpillars that pupate on the ground.
A beautiful crowd of young spiders were in my parents' garden in Kerry. –Myra Daly, Cherrywood, Dublin 18
I found these tiny spiders on the wall outside my door. They appeared to be travelling on a fine web up and down to the plant. – Walter Cullen, Sutton, Dublin 13
They are both the spiderlings of the garden spider, which is common in gardens and spins a large web among the foliage.
I live near the Burren National Park and we get amazing moths inside and outside the house. Can you identify this one? – Áine O'Regan, Tubber, Co Clare
It's one of the thorn moths, probably the lunar thorn, which has been reported from the Burren.
I saw this small butterfly in our garden. What is it? – Ruth Brennan, Bray, Co Wicklow
It's the common blue butterfly.
In west Clare over the Easter period I found this egg. To what bird did it belong? On the previous day I heard a cuckoo nearby and wondered if the egg was pushed rather than fell from its nest. – Kevin McDermott, Rathmines, Dublin 6
It looks like a blackbird's egg, so hardly dislodged by the cuckoo, which lays in the nests of the meadow pipit, the dunnock and the reed bunting.
While looking for marsh fritillary butterflies at Bull Island I came across this small elephant hawkmoth. – Frank Smyth, Sutton, Dublin13
Ethna Viney welcomes observations and photographs at Thallabawn, Louisburgh, Co Mayo, F28 F978, or by email at viney@anu.ie. Please include a postal address.
