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English name is not really surprising, because 100 years ago this insect was virtually unknown in Britain. An important monograph on hoverflies, published in 1902, reported only two museum specimens 'reputed' to have been found here. Then, during the 1940s

wildlife, they can be made into great plant food and are a surprisingly versatile ingredient in the kitchen.The nettle we're used to in the UK is Urtica dioica, a perennial plant full of iron, calcium, magnesium and nitrogen, which makes it incredibly

alarm. It seems to prefer pine aphids and I only found it in London last year, for the first time.The harlequin ladybird is all over south London now, and although I saw lots in 2006, they were fewer and further between in 2007. Oh, and the seven

isn't very old, it's not more than 20cm in diameter at the base, but the bark is rough and gnarled enough to provide the odd nook and cranny for overwintering ladybirds.Surprisingly, these are not the recent alien invader Harmonia axyridis

. 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

2007 will be remembered as a very good year for wasps. But before people start complaining about their vicious stings and bad tempers, I must point out that wasps are actually our friends. After birds and spiders, they are the most important insect

and Their Haunts by the Rev. C.A. Johns, was published in 1862 by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, on the back of his success with Flowers of the Field (1851). Both books were in print for over a century, and it's easy to see why.To start, Johns

This Saturday (30 October) is RSPB Feed the Birds Day. To celebrate, I gave my feeders a good wash with hot water and disinfectant and bought some expensive bird seed. The birds, still busy eating aphids from the trees in the local park, are none

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

on the broad leaves, Fallopia is more or less sterile when it comes to wildlife. But this may be about to change. I notice that there are rumours of importing a small but pretty Japanese insect, the psyllid bug Aphalara idatori, to try and control the knotweed