During the first few days of July, I noticed how the more colourful residents of my garden are putting in an appearance. One of the animals that seems to be having a very good year locally is the Scarlet Tiger Moth, easily identifiable with its black forewings with white or yellow markings, and its bold red underwings. It flies by day and night and feeds on nectar as an adult and on a range of plants such as Nettles, Comfrey and Brambles when in the larval stages. The adults are around 50mm (2 inches) across and can’t really be missed whether in flight or resting on leaves.
Rivalling the Scarlet Tiger in vibrancy is this Ruby-tailed Wasp with its glittering, metallic mixture of shiny blue-green and deep ruby-red. They are very different in size, however, at no more than 12mm (or half an inch). This one was loitering around my bee hotel, a collection of tubes and bored holes used by several species of solitary bees for raising their larvae. Adult Ruby-tailed Wasps are much lazier, choosing to lay their eggs into the nests of the bees using the hotel, where they eat the larvae and then grow to maturity on the food supplied by the adult bees. This form of parasitism has led to their other name of Cuckoo Wasp, as they take advantage of the hard work of others.
The third in my list of colourful visitors is a combination of a delightful wild plant and a common bee that is seen in most flower gardens during the summer. The Cornflower is an annual plant that used to grow regularly in cornfields and amongst other grain crops, although it is now endangered by the over-use of herbicides. The Red-tailed Bumblebee is jet-black with a bright red tail, although the males can have one or two yellow stripes. This species nests underground in old vole burrows, under stones or slabs, or at the base of a wall. In common with most species of bee, they eat pollen and nectar from various plants, tending to prefer those with the most nectar available.
Our wildlife comes in all shapes, sizes and colours, making a splendid addition to any garden. Generally it’s free, with native plants inviting themselves into our empty spaces and offering a home and a larder to all manner of animals; these in turn attract more animals to prey on them and clear up the remains. All we need to do is cut out the herbicides and insecticides that are so widely used and allow our native wildlife to take advantage of any space we have available. I’m not suggesting that all of your garden should be rewilded, but any space that can be set aside will soon be filled with a surprising collection of wildlife.
During the first few days of July, I noticed how the more colourful residents of my garden are putting in an appearance. One of the animals that seems to be having a very good year locally is the Scarlet Tiger Moth, easily identifiable with its black forewings with white or yellow markings, and its bold red underwings. It flies by day and night and feeds on nectar as an adult and on a range of plants such as Nettles, Comfrey and Brambles when in the larval stages. The adults are around 50mm (2 inches) across and can’t really be missed whether in flight or resting on leaves.
Rivalling the Scarlet Tiger in vibrancy is this Ruby-tailed Wasp with its glittering, metallic mixture of shiny blue-green and deep ruby-red. They are very different in size, however, at no more than 12mm (or half an inch). This one was loitering around my bee hotel, a collection of tubes and bored holes used by several species of solitary bees for raising their larvae. Adult Ruby-tailed Wasps are much lazier, choosing to lay their eggs into the nests of the bees using the hotel, where they eat the larvae and then grow to maturity on the food supplied by the adult bees. This form of parasitism has led to their other name of Cuckoo Wasp, as they take advantage of the hard work of others.
The third in my list of colourful visitors is a combination of a delightful wild plant and a common bee that is seen in most flower gardens during the summer. The Cornflower is an annual plant that used to grow regularly in cornfields and amongst other grain crops, although it is now endangered by the over-use of herbicides. The Red-tailed Bumblebee is jet-black with a bright red tail, although the males can have one or two yellow stripes. This species nests underground in old vole burrows, under stones or slabs, or at the base of a wall. In common with most species of bee, they eat pollen and nectar from various plants, tending to prefer those with the most nectar available.
Our wildlife comes in all shapes, sizes and colours, making a splendid addition to any garden. Generally it’s free, with native plants inviting themselves into our empty spaces and offering a home and a larder to all manner of animals; these in turn attract more animals to prey on them and clear up the remains. All we need to do is cut out the herbicides and insecticides that are so widely used and allow our native wildlife to take advantage of any space we have available. I’m not suggesting that all of your garden should be rewilded, but any space that can be set aside will soon be filled with a surprising collection of wildlife.