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The mullein moth caterpillars in my garden are still small, but they're guaranteed to increase in size by the day. These little critters - welcomed by wildlife enthusiasts and hated by gardeners - munch their way through verbascum, figwort

Just a couple of days after last week's posting, my own specimen of the Jersey tiger moth was flying about in the front garden. I was putting up a 'rustic' wooden arch over the front gate so that the Chinese Virginia creeper, Parthenocissus henryana

On Saturday I turned over a rose leaf that appeared to be stuck up with a mass of silky threads to reveal a bizarre furry blob - the wingless female of the vapourer moth, Orgyia antiqua. Well, she's not completely wingless, she has tiny vestigial

to no good, but rarely ever seen. Now you can catch them, and the gruesome evidence brings a big smile to my face. (It can't only be me, surely?)I invested in a Plum Moth Trap and Apple Codling Moth Trap in May. These comprise of a green plastic shelter (bird

Dulwich). All ichneumons are parasitic, laying their eggs in a wide range of insects, but especially moth and butterfly caterpillars. The venom injected at the same time contains an immunosuppressant, preventing the immune system of the host insect from

to Desperate Dan.At this time of year all is perfect with tightly furled funnels of foliage poking their heads through the ground. The problem begins when the leaves unravel to reveal, not flawless quilted duvets of perfection, but something moth eaten

, for kidney problems, blood pressure and in Chinese medicine it is a digestive aid. It also provides food for many moths including the Mottled Pug, Scalloped Hazel and Brimstone.Most of us see them woven through field hedges all over the countryside in late

of the most exotic houseplants, like calla lilies and moth orchids, have actually becomes some of the cheapest to buy in supermarkets. You'll probably find pots in supermarkets now, boasting their stunning spathes.Zantedeschia albomaculata varieties have

are the larvae of a micro-moth, probably one of the many Coleophora species. Only about 5mm long, they're hidden in a sock-like bag of silk covered in bits of debris and lichen, which camouflage the creatures against the bark.A white aphid proves to be a dead

, they are so numerous in there that their maggots can work through several bucketloads of kitchen waste each week.These are sometimes joined by the smaller, but more delicately fluffy 'moth flies'. I haven't tried to identify these little creatures, even though