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A few weeks ago, I was rather disparaging about some gardens local to me, which are so immaculately laid out, so minimalist, and so trimmed, that they are all but devoid of wildlife. I now intend to take my anti-gardening stance further (this may

.I'm surprised, though, to see little sign of wildlife at any of these flower pots - just a lone honeybee and a couple of pigeons.It is only down by the river's edge that I can see what I might call real wildlife in a garden. A tiny concrete balcony

bumblebee had been found at a London sewage works. It’s all very lovely, but I can’t help feeling that the setting of such events should be a little more romantic. The goldcrest was one of several moving through the shrubbery one Thursday rush-hour morning

the bathroom light on each night.The notion of bug boxes came back to me recently when I had a quick look through the 'my garden' section of the RSPB's Homes for Wildlife web pages. Under 'homes for insects' it suggests installing or building one. Well, I

Spring has sprung. All at once. The guinea pig and his hutch are back outside. Shieldbugs, in their purple-brown winter colours, are sunbathing on the fence. The first bumblebee of the year, a queen buff-tailed, floated past and a male feather

There's a park near me. It's a great place to escape the urban sprawl. There, I've spotted eight species of bumblebee (including a winter buff-tailed colony), plus honey, solitary and feather-footed bees. I've also seen butterflies, great spotted

In the bright heat of this week's baking sunlight, a buzz of black and orange fur announces the arrival of what I think is one our cuddliest hoverflies. Merodon equestis is a large (12 - 15mm long), stout, bumblebee mimic, and although not quite

and dangerous prey, even the occasional heavy bumblebee.Not everything goes according to plan, though. As I watch a wasp becomes stuck against some sticky silk strands. It struggles, quite literally, for its life. The spider trots up to see what is disturbing

Within days, two scientific reports on Britain’s wildlife have made national news headlines because of their dire prognoses. The State of the UK’s Birds 2012, produced by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, British Trust for Ornithology

to eye.Whether you go out of your way to help wildlife in your garden or spend hours tending a perfectly manicured plot, you’re sharing your pride and joy with wild creatures. These could be a family of hedgehogs or bumblebees, frogs, earwigs, whatever