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hibernation now are mostly green, but the summer form has vague reddish brown patches across its back. It too has a slight smell of mouldy almonds, especially if picked up; these are the bitter-tasting cyanide compounds used by shieldbugs to deter predators

months hidden in hibernation in some dry secluded spot, the queens, with a store of sperm from autumn matings, venture out to an uncertain spring weather pattern, which is as unpredictable as any of the many other dangers they face from predators, disease

chrysanthemums.It is pretty straightforward to grow your own ornamental cabbages although they suffer from the same predators as normal brassicas. Seeds should be sown in springtime.They should last in containers for much of the winter - although if the pigeons

millipedes. But, just like the longer-legged species, they are predators of other small invertebrates.There were hundreds of them. The rotting timber was obviously the ideal site to shelter in. When they set off, they have a lovely fluid motion, and seem

starred in an issue of Gardeners’ World Magazine. He’s a permanent resident at Sue’s because he can’t roll into a ball to protect himself from predators, due to a strimmer injury. He spends most of his time hiding in a fleece hat and is very cute, but a

water. Encourage natural predators, such as thrushes, toads, hedgehogs and ground beetles. Drown them in saucers of milk or beer - bury the saucer with the rim slightly above soil level to prevent ground beetles falling in, too. Place traps in the border

the chicks flown the nest, or had a predator struck?Last week, while inspecting my standard roses for signs of pests I was amazed to come face-to-face with another nest perched in the thorny head of the bush. It contained three small speckled blue eggs. I

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

this late in the year the dung-flies are ready to recycle. The adult flies, although only 7-10 mm long, are fierce predators, attacking other small insects they catch on the wing. Unlike houseflies, they do not come indoors, are not attracted to human food