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To my mind, the asparagus beetle, Crioceris asparagi, is one of our most beautiful insects. The Mondrianesque juxtaposition of its red border, creamy yellow squares and inky blue-black outlining is just astonishing.Although only 5-6mm long, it's a

Living in a city, one of the country things I really miss is the easy search for dung beetles. Growing up at the foot of the South Downs I could quite happily spend an entire day out dunging. Cows, sheep and horses grazed the rolling hills around my

I think it’s going to be a good year for stag beetles in East Dulwich. On May 16th there were three flying around in the evening, two males and a female. Then on the 29th I found the chap, pictured left, buzzing about as I was bringing

Just over a week ago I was outside one evening singing 'Happy Birthday' to my mum down the phone. Half way through I was interrupted by a huge male stag beetle flying low over the garden with a loud clockwork buzz. Fantastic.It's hard to believe

"So what are these things on my lavender?" said the complete stranger, plonking down a jam jar full of beetles on the table. Ordinarily I would have been pleased, but slightly surprised, to be accosted like this, but Saturday 17th May was open

the situation every 10-20 years, inject with pesticide where necessary and replace timber when appropriate. There should be a fair few centuries of life and deathwatch yet in the place.

and more sky than I can take in even with both eyes. There is just too much wildlife to look at in detail, so here is a mélange from the first week of our stay.Saturday 7th August 2010 Everything is much greener than England so they've obviously had more

periodically.Find out more about stag beetle conservation.Attracting insects and wildlife to your gardenFlowers to attract bees and other insects.Wildlife-friendly plantsBuilding a bug box for insectsMaking a bee hotelBrowse a variety of plants

in Britain in 1937, and not properly identified until 1948. It's a native of New Zealand, and likely arrived in wooden casks, packing cases or other imported wood. Unlike the usual domestic ‘woodworm’ beetles, it will not attack sound timber, but only feeds

After writing an article on how and why to keep a garden wildlife diary for BBC Gardener's World Magazine, I've been invited to go electronic and turn it into a blog. My handwriting is atrocious so maybe this will be a good way of keeping the diary