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Here's a thing. If a wild animal comes into a garden, it's wildlife. If a wild plant comes in, it's a weed. Now that seems just a bit unfair on our native flora.Admittedly, an animal can be considered a pest, but many are regarded as helpful

similar species, Rhagoletis cerasi, is a major pest of cherries on the European mainland and I'll bet UK cherry growers are keen to know whether it is spreading.I walked past the same bushes at the weekend and my observations now take on a different tone

and widespread, but more an insect of rough flowery grassland, verges, meadows and commons than of domestic gardens. The larvae burrow in plant stems, but only wild flowers so it's never a pest. It's easy to see how this noble-looking beetle got its scientific

of stairs. Instead of a tight whorl forming the usual globe shape, the helix is stretched out into a point.I'm guessing that no matter how much I go on about snails, most people will regard them as a nuisance and a pest. But maybe this is because we haven