What is this?

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John J

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What is this?
« on: September 08, 2014, 02:08:52 PM »
This is not a quiz. Seriously, what is this? :o Returned from taking grandson to football practice to find it outside our back door next to a pair of old trainers I use for gardening. Even our cats, who'll tackle small snakes and lizards the size of mini dinosaurs seemed reluctant to go near it.
Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)

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Fermi

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Re: What is this?
« Reply #1 on: September 08, 2014, 02:44:47 PM »
Mr F de Sousa, Central Victoria, Australia
member of AGS, SRGC, NARGS
working as a physio to support my gardening habit!

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John J

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Re: What is this?
« Reply #2 on: September 08, 2014, 05:00:24 PM »
Thanks, Fermi, I reckon you could be right, certainly about it being a Dung Beetle of some sort.
Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)

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oron peri

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Re: What is this?
« Reply #3 on: December 22, 2014, 07:14:25 AM »
John

I would say Propomacros cypriacus
Garden Designer, Bulb man, Botanical tours guide.
Living and gardening in Tivon, Lower Galilee region, North Israel.
Min temp 5c Max 42c, around 450mm rain.

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John J

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Re: What is this?
« Reply #4 on: December 22, 2014, 01:11:40 PM »
That's a new one on me,Oron, but when I looked it up I see it is a rare Cyprus endemic so it isn't surprising that I haven't seen one before. It troubled me to see that they frequent areas with Quercus and Carob where they feed on the old wood of these trees and we have neither anywhere near here. Then I remembered that around that time a friend who does have a carob tree brought us a few bags of carobs that had been left outside on the yard. I guess she could have inadvertently scooped it up along with those. That's the only explanation I can think of for it being here way out of range of any of its host plants.
Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)