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fighting back. The eggs hatch and the ichneumon grubs then eat the insect alive, from the inside. Although they are amongst the most important of biological control agents, they are incredibly poorly studied; the few identification guides are highly

everywhere. A few years ago I cleared out the small window boxes of the dead and dying plants that were clearly not doing very well. All I found, instead of roots, were lots of these small (7-8mm) creamy white maggots — vine weevil grubs.The adult weevils

, that badgers and birds won't dig up looking for grubs, that dogs won't ruin with their scorch marks. And worm casts? What worm casts? Lawn life as we know it replaced by a carpet of convenient, sterile 'turf' -  like paving slabs in disguise.But what is a

the leaves young avoids ending up with a salad full of grubs.So far, I've just two pots of bare soil - one decorated with a wigwam of pea sticks - but it won't be long before shoots start to emerge. Adam Pasco and I will be blogging again about the progress

've emptied the old grow bag - that will have destroyed the nest - the frogs will eat any grubs/cocoons left laying around.  If you've got plenty of activity going on in the greenhouse now that spring is here the ants are likely to look for somwhere else dry

suitable undisturbed breeding places. Reply to FriedaI think you may be labouring under a misapprehension. Just as young butterflies are caterpillars, young stag beetles are grubs (or maggots or larvae depending on our vernacular choice). They do vary

think you are right and you probably have a borer grub at work there.  Try a google for "apple tree borer" which may give you some ideas on ways to treat it.  Some of the google images look very similar to your photo's.  If you don't get it soon

Weevil Killer 2) as a liquid drench applied to the compost. These insecticides give protection against the grubs for up to two and four months respectively; treatment in mid- to late summer will control the young larvae and prevent damage occurring later

and sour-tasting berries. This latter is the more famous tree, however, because (as every schoolchild knows) it provides about the only food that a silkworm will tolerate. The grubs feed on the mulberry leaves before wrapping themselves into cocoons made

the top layer of soil, replace it with fresh, home-made compost and give all the plants a good water. Any vine weevil grubs will be dispatched to the blackbird, and the thyme replaced with some garlic chives, which I'm ready to plant out. I'll prune out