Day at Bristol Zoo Gardens!

Today I decided to visit Bristol Zoo Gardens.

It was awesome and I took some great pictures (54 total):

Meerkats

Julia Heliconian Butterfly

It's finally happened...roach moults!

You may remember my previous post in June about Norman the cockroach and his possible moulting. I originally thought he was about to moult but with hindsight, I think he was hardening back up from already moulting.

Why do I think this? Because Betty and Barney both moulted early this morning! YAY! I've been anticipating this as it's my first time keeping cockroaches and I've been eager to see the moulting process.

At around 4.45am today I woke up (from the heat) and went to check on the roaches. I did this instinctively as I had a feeling there would be some moulting happening soon and I was right! I removed the coconut hide and was greeted by this;

Top Ten Most Stunning Butterflies

A top ten list of the ten most beautiful and colourful butterfly species in the world:

#10 Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor)

Unexpected Visitor!

Normally I don't like flying insects but I do like butterflies; though only to look at when outside (not in the house). This little critter flew into our study early this evening:

I didn't mind handling it as I thought it was a butterfly. My husband and I saw this insect (or one of the same species) near a bush early in the day and assumed it was a butterfly, as we only saw it briefly. After searching online to find out what species it was and being unsuccessful I thought I'd look at moth species as well.

It turns out it is not a butterfly - but a Swallow-tailed Moth! Here is a picture of this type of moth:

(link)

The Swallow-tailed Moth (Ourapteryx sambucaria) is one of the largest moths found in the UK. It's been described as 'a large, impressive moth, remarkably butterfly-like' and so it was easy to mistake for a butterfly. Whilst researching, I also found out that this moth is nocturnal, attracted to light and emerges during July - as if we needed any more confirmation!

Mealworm FAQ

Some Frequently Asked Questions about Keeping Mealworms

What is a mealworm and why would anyone keep them?

This is a mealworm;

(link)

Mealworms are baby mealworm beetles (Tenebrio molitor). They are the larval form of the beetle - meaning they will, if left alone, morph into their mature beetle form. They are not true 'worms' as they have six limbs at the front of the body; which is dark yellow-orange in colour.

Cockroach Moult?

When I looked in my roach tank last night I noticed that one of the roaches (Norman) has turned a strange colour.

Here's what Norman used to look like:

                         Norman a few weeks ago.

Why keep Cockroaches as pets?

I get a lot of strange looks and nervous laughs when I say I have five Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches.

Many people then jump to the conclusion that they are for feeding to another pet, e.g. my leopard gecko but this is not the case. My cockroaches are as much pets to me as my other pets; I house them, feed them, clean their enclosure and handle them as I do for all of my pets. The only difference is that they are not what a lot of people would consider cute.

So why do I keep them as pets? At first admittedly though I was interested in them, I had no real intention of keeping any. However, it being my nature to feel empathy for any 'unwanted' animals I adopted them from an animal unit when they could no longer keep them. Originally I had only three; Amber, Rusty and Norman and I housed them in a half gallon tank with a coconut hide. Soon after I gained two more roaches - Betty and Barney - from a friend and added them to the enclosure. So I now had five cockroaches.