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their bodies at the waist, creating an audible click and jerking them airborne, spinning out of the way as an escape strategy. These supposedly notorious root-crop pests are not common up at the allotment. I don’t think we have enough root crops for them

times a year. Surrounded by evergreen oak woodland it was secluded, quiet and alive with wildlife.In the evenings I was fascinated by the fireflies, much brighter than our glow-worms. This mating pair was alight although unfortunately the flashguns

, but the larvae, with their larger than expected size and strange almost caterpillar-like scuttling habit, are more likely to be incorrectly identified. All too often people tell me they have squashed them, believing them to be garden pests, when in fact

-eastern USA, arriving in New York in 1990 and Pennsylvania in 1992.In the USA and Canada it is regarded as a forestry pest because of its damage to conifer seeds and developing cones, especially Douglas fir. Seed destruction rates of 80% have been recorded

inspector to report the discovery of a noxious pest.

managed agriculture, either. But these 'pests' form an important part of the food chain and many species of bird and bat rely on them. Sadly, a common way of dealing with ants is to pour boiling water over the nest. I wonder how many ant mating rituals

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

, wild pear and buckthorn should cater for a wide range of species. A patch of long grass may encourage some species to breed, while a more relaxed attitude to 'pests' will go a long way to boosting caterpillar numbers in your garden.Moths, like bees

wildlife, they can be made into great plant food and are a surprisingly versatile ingredient in the kitchen.The nettle we're used to in the UK is Urtica dioica, a perennial plant full of iron, calcium, magnesium and nitrogen, which makes it incredibly