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an equal giant brought to me by a small child. 'These don't bite' I announced, as it bit me. Unlike the woodlouse spider, Dysdera crocata, it didn't hurt. We could clearly see the fangs digging into the skin of my finger tips, but either they were not long

I'm not overly fond of grey squirrels. Compared to the reds, which the greys have replaced, they are great lumbering brutes. But I suppose I'm lucky that they do little damage in my garden other than digging up a few tulip bulbs, so I can appreciate

later.My mum finally let me dig her a pond two years ago, and it's teeming with frogs, newts, damsel and dragonflies. But what happens when you fill in a pond? Sadly, I found out a few weeks ago, when I discovered seven baby frogs living in the drain

Last year I wrote about autumn tidying and the effect this can have on wildlife. I left my garden untouched over winter, leaving hibernating creatures snuggled under a duvet of fallen leaves and rotting stems. None of my plants died or were ravaged

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

to the electricity sub-station building. Digging up the hard-standing was never a possibility: too much effort, too much time, too much money, too much noise, and too many pipes and cables running who knows where. So we opted for above-ground construction instead

a short flight to the raspberries, comfrey and clover he grows.If you want wildlife nesting in your garden, then build log and leaf piles, start a compost heap, leave a messy area, plant nectar-rich flowers and dig a pond. You could also use an old

themselves here. They are smaller and tubbier than the bees, and have a distinct long straight pointed proboscis for sipping nectar while hovering in mid air. It's no coincidence that they are here too. When the bees start to dig their nest burrows

queens and males emerge en masse and fly in the air to mate, before the females drop their wings and search for new digs and the males crawl off to die. The day, usually in late-July, is timed perfectly to ensure optimum weather conditions for the event

of those from the local Chinese takeaway; I also use them for 'show and tell' sessions. They've found a 'lizardy' thing whilst digging up the end of the garden, and wonder what it is.Inside the chow mein box, curled up in some soil is a tiny newtlet