Search - Articles

On the weekend of 25/26 October, the RSPB held a Feed the Birds Day, with various events up and down the country. It doesn't yet seem cold enough to worry about putting up seed feeders or fat cakes, but then we're probably more protected from

It's cold, there's snow on the ground, and all is quiet in the garden. But I've just been outside feeding the wildlife. In my case that does not mean putting up nut-filled bird feeders or hanging fat balls, it means tipping the kitchen waste

There's a spider the size of a gardening glove in my compost bin. It obviously gets a good living in there, feeding on the flies, woodlice, beetles and earwigs, the remains of which can be vaguely guessed in its untidy sheet of a web. I wouldn

be, I doubt there are many who would mourn its loss from a wildlife perspective, and plenty who would celebrate the final demise of a pernicious triffid.But this vigorous tree does have some wildlife value, as host to one of Britain’s loveliest

in the region of 50 to 55 mm.In insects, small size is sometimes attributed to poor nutrition during the larval stage. Since painted lady caterpillars feed on thistles, food shortage seems unlikely...unless, perhaps, the recent poor weather meant that its

an egg into the acorn, it alsoinjects a cocktail of chemicals that causes the acorn's growth to be interrupted. Then as the grub feeds inside it too secretes chemicals thatalter the normal development of the acorn forcing it to grow into the knopper

with anyone growing plants for their roots or tubers. Most species, though, are dead wood feeders, and they include lots of very rare species, which only occur in old woodlands, ancient hedgerows and other important wildlife habitats. Their larvae feed

and grass, and it is here that I think they have been living all summer. Like many insects, once feeding is complete they deliberately move away from the food source to find a suitable place to pupate. There are, perhaps, two different reasons for this

For anyone who thought the cold winter might have been a bit harsh for wildlife, I hope the recent heatwave has been an eye-opener. I’ve certainly never seen so much insect life in April before. The garden has been awash with orange-tips, holly

the small golfball-sized embryo nest with its 15-20 cells in a single paper comb. After she has laid her first 15-20 eggs in these, she must forage for caterpillars, flies, aphids and other insects to feed to the grubs that hatch.This is a vulnerable time