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It was getting dark, the cat was skulking after something in the shadows around the hutch and the guinea pig was squealing its head off. Something sinister on the patio? No, just another stag beetle.I often say how privileged I feel to have

It's always nice to be shown a 'find' by an excited child, so when I was told of a bright green iridescent beetle found in a neighbour's garden I could hardly wait to see what it was.As it turns out, it was Oedemera nobilis. It's very common

The plot is abuzz with wildlife, including ladybirds, lacewings, bumblebees and ground beetles. They're all marvellous for my crops; bees increase my yields by pollinating flowers, and ladybirds and lacewings eat a lot of aphids. As well

them is immense; they're such magical creatures.Known in Latin as Lampyris noctiluca (noctiluca meaning 'night light'), this charming glowing critter is not actually a worm, but a female beetle. She produces the yellowy-green light from the end of her

species of rove beetle regularly turn tail and disappear into the morass when I lift off the lids. Last week I found a shiny black domed beetle about the size and shape of a kidney bean - Hister merdarius. It's very scarce, so has no common name and being

ladybird. The rest are the usual suspects: vine weevils (No.3 on the list), lily beetles (No.9) etc.No matter how depressed we may get with cushion scale (No.4=) or the depredations of berberis sawfly (No.7) there is always a silver lining. There are worse

.Next is what looks like a tiny animated scrubbing brush; it's the larva of a beetle, Ctesias serra. Related to carpet beetles, it scavenges on bits of insects left by spiders that make their messy webs under loose bark on old trees. Its long bristles protect

.To top it all there's very little raspberry beetle damage - those horrible little browny maggoty things that sneak out of the top end of the fruit. I can't seem to pick the fruit fast enough and the entire family is going around with bright red stains

In two large pots I am growing big white lilies (lets not talk about the dapper scarlet lily beetles and their repulsively slimy offspring at the moment - too depressing) and a luscious deep red dahlia called Arabian Night. Around the feet

Parts of my garden have resembled something of a battleground this year. Why is it that all my favourite plants and crops have their very own pest to contend with? Grow lilies and you'll be hard pressed not to find lily beetle munching them. My