What garden wildlife is doing now
Find out what the wildlife in your garden is up to in August
August sees insect activity in the garden tail off, as some species of bumblebee enter hibernation and solitary bees, such as leafcutters, come to the end of their lifecycle. Butterflies, however, such as peacock, small tortoiseshell and red admiral, are having their moment this month, feeding on flowers such as buddleia and Verbena bonariensis. Some may even be laying eggs on nettles for a late third brood.
How to help wildlife in your garden
- Wildlife gardening jobs for August
- Wildlife gardening
- Make your garden butterfly friendly
- How to make a bee friendly garden
- Monty Don on gardening for wildlife - podcast
Goldfinches are looking for seeds
Most chicks have fledged their nests now, with young blackbirds, robins, wrens and tits all making their own way in the world. Starlings and house sparrows may have produced a third brood and will be introducing them to your feeders and garden around now. Goldfinches breed later than other garden birds and may also be bringing newly fledged chicks to your garden. Fill feeders with high quality seed mixes so they have plenty of nutritious food to eat, along with mealworms, but use a tray to catch spilled mealworms as they can harm hedgehogs. Goldfinches will benefit particularly from wild plants left to seed, including greater knapweed and grass seed in meadow areas.
- How to attract birds to your garden
- Feeding garden birds in summer
- Types of bird food
- Identifying garden birds
Grasshoppers are looking for mates
If you have areas of long grass, listen out for the mating calls of male grasshoppers, who rub their back legs against their wings to attract a female. After mating, the female lays eggs beneath the soil surface and the wingless nymphs hatch in spring. They eat grass and go through several instar stages before their final metamorphosis into a winged adult next summer.
Baby slow worms are arriving
August is the month of baby slow worms. Unlike most lizards, which lay eggs, the females are ovoviviparous. This means that the eggs hatch internally and her young remain in her body for a while, eating the remains of the egg, before she ‘gives birth’ to them, typically in a warm environment such as a grass pile or compost bin. Avoid turning or emptying your compost bin for a few weeks so they’re not disturbed during this process.
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