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It amazes me how ladybirds survive winter outside - hibernation is an extraordinary phenomenon. To withstand winter as adults, ladybirds and other creatures must find suitable shelter, and they'll seek high and low to find it. I've tried

with buzzing insects. I know the village is slightly nearer the equator than still-hibernating East Dulwich, but this was ridiculous.Dozens of honeybees were bobbing about on the flowers, together with their hoverfly mimics, droneflies (Eristalis tenax

mainly flies), but in the past I've seen wasps and tortoiseshell butterflies eagerly making the most of this final feed of nectar before hibernating.Fatsia japonica is an exotic looking evergreen shrub with large glossy, lobed leaves. Despite its tropical

The whole world seems to be teeming with life at the moment: the birdsong is delightful, the snails are on the march (in spite of my discovering at least three huge hibernation areas during the winter) and the plants are growing at phenomenal speed

queen buff-tailed bumblebee, was examining the compost heap; I guess she was searching out a suitable hibernation site. Every now and then something else would buzz past: rosemary leaf beetles, green shieldbugs and ladybirds were all very active

in autumn, just before disappearing into hibernation. It has been reported as being a physiological change, perhaps related to changes in the way nutrients are stored in their bodies over winter. But I've often wondered whether it might be an evolutionary