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– they gather to mate on the heap. Then hoverflies turn up to lay eggs on it. Once, a common blue butterfly spent the night on a particularly smelly mound of semi-rotted compost. What powerful antennae these creatures must have...

flower and patches of bare wall, I think about the ivy growing on the canal down the road. It's just coming into flower now, and is buzzing with the last of this year's hoverflies, bees and butterflies. Ivy would be a great choice for my garden - it

with some wood, landscape fabric and pond liner, and transformed the dead space on my shed into a wildlife oasis.High up above our cities, green roofs provide a refuge for endangered black redstarts, wild bees, butterflies and other insects, giving them a

in their respective fields, providing a comprehensive summary of our wild species. As you might expect, it’s mostly bad news.Over the last 10 years, 72 per cent of Britain’s butterflies have declined, including common garden species whose populations have fallen by 24

, froghoppers, moths, butterflies and bees. (The frogs I rescued and brought in.) I’m determined to make sure my garden provides the perfect home for wildlife over winter, and if I have to compromise a little on aesthetics, so be it. I've already made

are continually on the move. I hope the BTO is able to keep an eye of all five of them over winter and track their return journeys to the UK in spring.In the meantime, we gardeners can take a few steps to ensure this autumn's hibernating butterflies, moths