Saturday 3 January 2015

What are they? The 2015 Quiz

I saw these three over the Christmas holidays. I have almost no idea what they are, so that's the 2015 Quiz: tell me what they are.



This brightly coloured bug was in the bark and ivy of a willow tree near us. He appears to be wearing the Estelada - the Catalan national flag. The distinctive white spot on the tail must be an identifier, but I don’t know of what. He might be a  Fire Bug, Pyrrhocoris apterus. But then again he might not.
 



L'Estelada, en insecte?


I found this one inside the underground box that protects our water pipe and taps, on the edge of a mixed (holm oak and pine) woodland. My guess: Rana temporaria, the Common Frog. But s/he does not have the distinctive V shape (chevron) on her back.



Je suis le frog



I found this on the edge of the track above the house. Distinctively white droppings, with a spiral twist and a pointed end. According to "Animal Tracks and Signs" by Preben Bang and Preben Dahlstrom these are characteristic features of fox (Vulpes vulpes) droppings. So, maybe a fox?
 

The Swiss Army drops in


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