Michael Viney responds to reader's queries and observations on nature.
We saw two large jellyfish swimming off the Wicklow coast, one at least two feet in diameter. The front part was light yellowish, the middle section was orange and the smaller rear section was purple.
James Morgan, Wicklow
They were the lion's mane jellyfish (Cyanea capillata), not often seen in the Irish Sea. They swim continually at up to several kilometres per hour and have a severe sting even when dead on the beach.
While on holiday in the Pyrenees we saw a black reptile with yellow spots measuring about 15 centimetres in length. It had a head and tail like a lizard but a fat body more like a frog.
Nuala Shelley, Sandyford, Dublin 18
It was a fire salamander which is found in southwest Europe in woods and forests near pools or streams. There have been several letters reporting hummingbird hawkmoths. They arrive here in spring from southern Europe and lay eggs in June. The larvae feed in July and moths emerge in about a month. They produce a second brood in September and over winter as adults, but rarely survive the winter this far north.
Edited by Michael Viney, who welcomes observations sent to him at Thallabawn, Carrowniskey PO, Westport, Co Mayo. E-mail: viney@anu.ie (include postal address)