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of colour to remind us that summer is on its way. They provide insects with nectar, which is essential for feeding them up again after their long winter sleep. There are several spring bulbs which provide food for insects: snowdrop, winter aconite, snake

. Hot and humid is best, apparently.In any one area, ants from thousands of nests will take to the skies at once, forming large, mating swarms. It's exciting, not least for insect-eating birds, which have rich pickings for a day or two. Of the bird

at the edge of the water in total darkness with bats swirling around me.Like so much of our wildlife, bats are having a hard time. This is mostly due to the widespread use of pesticides in agriculture. British bats feed exclusively on insects, so spraying

it's not legal, but I'm not aware of anyone being prosecuted for it.I attended a wildlife gardening conference recently, where one of the speakers, Jan Miller, author of Gardening for Butterflies, Bees and other benificial insects gave a presentation

landscape.Native plants are much better for our wildlife than introduced ones. A native tree (such as oak or hawthorn) might provide food and shelter for 150 insects, birds and other animals, but an introduced one (such as Japanese maple) is often devoid

wildfire garden".Now, 26 years later, the gardens at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show are awash not just with wildflowers, but with green roofs, ponds, streams and insect habitats. Indeed, these are such great gardens for wildlife, that on Sunday morning a

. Like long-tailed tits, goldcrests eat insects and spiders, but specialise in tiny morsels such as moth eggs. Their beaks are designed to pick out insects from between pine needles. In really cold winters they will occasionally come to garden feeders, so keep

bought it, so I'd take responsibility for it.The tree spent a few weeks in the garden, looking just as sad as those on the canal. Then I took the secateurs to it. I removed all the branches and gathered them together in bundles for insects to shelter in

amphibians. Wood left in full sun will dry out quicker and support fewer invertebrates, but may be used by nesting solitary bees or as a basking site for insects and reptiles. If you have the space, why not make dead wood features in several areas of your

warm rock or stone, to gain enough energy from the sun to hunt for insect food. Often, they will choose a particular spot, which they regularly return to. If you disturb a basking lizard, you can try sitting quietly in the same place to see