The Grapevine Late Summer 2019 Grapevine Aug-Sep 2019 v2 | Page 31

I do however, get cross with caterpillars when they are eating their way through the cabbages at an alarming rate, leaving everything lace like and covered in frass. Help can come from an unexpected source. Wasps! They are not just annoying insects that suicide into your drink on warm August nights: they are also efficient predators. Wasps eat caterpillars. Wasps are omnivorous and caterpillars are a major part of their diet. They build fine paper nests made from wood that they mash up in their mouths. Some nests are the size of footballs and will have hundreds of offspring within them, so a colony of wasps close to the vegetable patch is a blessing as they will make many trips a day to get food for their young. arch their abdomens a bit like a scorpion would. Don’t be tempted to pick them up as they can give you a bit of a nip, but they cannot do serious harm. They are however fierce predators in the garden, picking off slugs, weevils and wireworms all in a night’s work. As we all know colony forming honey bees are important pollinators, but there are also a whole host of other creatures that perform this function too. There are up to 200 species of solitary bees living in the UK. These bees which, sometimes look like honey bees, have very specialized lives. The female will often dig a nest and stock it with pollen and then seal it off leaving her offspring to fend for themselves. This month we have seen lots of leaf cutter bee activity in the gardens where we work, with bees taking leaves and petals with which to make nests, making distinctive shapes at the edge of the leaves. All bees in this order Hymenoptera are essential pollinators and should be encouraged. Caterpillars pose a bit of a dilemma for gardeners. However, get to know them and you will find that most are benign. Most plants can withstand a bit of nibbling and don’t forget they also turn into pollinators - pollinators that are as important as the bees. Aphids and caterpillars although garden pests, are also essential for sustaining healthy populations of birds. Blue tits needs at least 1000 caterpillars a day to raise a brood of about 10 chicks. The Grapevine There are also the solitary Ichneumonid wasps characterised by thin waists and a long ovipositing tube. This is not a stinger as in the common wasp, but a tube through which the female lays eggs. This process is a bit gruesome, as she lays her eggs directly into the body cavity of living caterpillars or spiders, depending on the species. The host then stays alive, but is consumed by the grubs of the wasp growing inside it. As gardeners we would all benefit from encouraging insects into our gardens. We can plant flowers with open petals, such as cosmos for butterflies, and nectar rich lavender for the bees. Leave a log pile and some damp areas to encourage beetles and give them a place for their larvae to grow. Plant fennel, dill and angelica to bring hoverflies buzzing into the garden. If the wasps build a nest where it can do no harm, leave it be. Getting to know the cast and characters of the insect world in your garden can become a life-long love, every bit as addictive and fascinating as the plants themselves. For anyone interested in Foliation looking at any aspects of your garden from hard to soft landscaping, small to big projects please contact me on the numbers below Jonathan Bishop, Foliation Ltd 44 Lakeside, Newent, Gloucestershire GL18 1SZ Office Telephone & Fax: [phone] email [email protected] www.foliation.co.uk Follow me on Twitter @JonBishop15 31