Search - Articles

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

This has definitely been a year of grotty raspberries. The raspberry beetle, Byturus tormentosus, is to blame. Affected berries have telltale dry, grey-brown patches around the top edges.I’ve never known anything like it. I was at a horticultural

Viburnum beetle was named as the number one pest by the RHS in 2010, stealing the crown from slugs and snails. It's native to the UK, but is becoming more widespread. Most of the leaf damage is caused by the stripey, beige-coloured larvae, though

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

Purple-striped green beetles, 8mm long, congregate among the leaves, which they feed on. The beetles lay elongated eggs beneath the leaves from September and continue to do so on warm days right through winter. These hatch after a couple of weeks

Scarlet beetles (6mm - 8mm long) with black heads eat the leaves, flowers and seedpods of lilies and other members of the lily family. Don't mistake them for ladybirds. Between April and September the beetles lay eggs on the undersides of leaves

The culprit is the flea beetle, which, like its namesake, jumps away when disturbed. The small, shiny, black, brown or blue beetles emerge in April and May, after winter hibernation, ready to start feeding. Eggs laid near host plants hatch in late

In spring and summer, pollen beetles fly in from nearby oilseed rape crops to gather in open flowers where they feed on ripe pollen. Mostly, the beetles do little harm although occasionally they may nibble into unopened flower buds and damage