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lacewings have started to seek out basic B with no B in the old out building near my house. Their young or larval stages are such voracious predators of aphids that I'm happy to have their parents to stay any time! Quite often they turn up in the house too

the camouflaged hind wings. If disturbed they'll flick up the front-wing eye spots in an attempt to startle a would-be predator, before taking flight as a final resort.The gatekeeper is a very common butterfly, but I hardly ever saw it when I lived in Nunhead

, the sparrowhawks move in too. We've moved the bird feeders and stopped using those that seem to leave the small birds exposed to predators. But what's the answer? It looks as if we're going to have to build a sort of Eden Project-esque mini-dome of chicken wire

working alone. As well as cautious humans removing them from allotment sheds, the nests are also prone to flooding, mould and disturbance from predators. The queen will have to look elsewhere for another suitable site. With luck she will now find a hollow

). For now, the important thing to remember is that frogs, toads, hedgehogs and birds can all help the gardener in the battle against slugs and snails, but if you don't have pests to feed these welcome predators they're not going to take up residence