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and 1950s, there was a series of sightings of this spectacular insect, which, as time went on, became more frequent.Most black and yellow wasp-like hoverflies bear aphid-eating larvae so beloved of gardeners. Volucella larvae have a much more exotic life

are the larvae of a micro-moth, probably one of the many Coleophora species. Only about 5mm long, they're hidden in a sock-like bag of silk covered in bits of debris and lichen, which camouflage the creatures against the bark.A white aphid proves to be a dead

around the world, and released into the wild well outside of its original Asian homeland. This is because it is a very useful biocontrol agent, attacking the many non-native aphids and other plant lice that have themselves been moved about the globe

on mildew on the leaves, it being one of the several mould-feeding ladybirds rather than the aphid-eating species. Nowadays it is most usually found on sycamore and lime trees and is much more abundant than ever before, especially in urban areas.It has a

. It is the voracious appetite of the large larva that has given the harlequin ladybird, Harmonia axyridis, its bad reputation. Not only does it eat aphids, it also eats other insects, including other ladybird larvae and also lacewing and hoverfly larvae feeding

predators in the garden and they attack all manner of real pests including caterpillars, aphids and flies. They feed the chewed remains to their grubs back at the nest. The last five years have been really bad for wasps; either the hibernating queens have

in the garden. As with that other garden favourite, the robin, wrens are voracious hunters of insects, and with their inquisitive searching into every available cranny, they will get in there now to clear out the caterpillars, aphids and plant bugs before

are sprouting and they are adrift with aphids - I shall look forward to the attentions of hoverflies and ladybirds soon. A single specimen of the rose leafhopper Edwardsiana rosae tried to play hide and seek by sidling around to the other side of a leaf

. This will be fascinating if it comes off. Although the Japanese harlequin ladybird, Harmonia axyridis, has been released in Europe to combat alien aphids, it arrived in Britain under its own steam, or accidentally with horticultural material. It is now (perhaps rather

. It's always fascinating to see what they can find and so rewarding to be able to tell them how many legs a woodlouse has (14) or how a hoverfly larva skewers an aphid then sucks out its guts. The more gruesome, the better.Unfortunately this year