Our wildlife blogger Richard Jones has kindly supplied some images of 2-spot and harlequin ladybird larvae and pupae, which we've now added to the blog. Explanatory text is in the 'Update' section beneath Pippa's blog. Hope this helps!
My Greenhouse Toms. are bending over at roof apex.Massive growth. Proportionally fewer fruits.Should I cut off the tops / and at what point ? Why so much growth ? Plant name is Moneymaker.--first time--all previous were Ailsa Craig-great but prone to dark-green "bottoms" which turned bad eventually--why ? Your comments welcomed. George Sylvester( Devon )
Sorry that so many of you are fed up with me - but I'm a gardener and a writer, not a photographer and my poor efforts were simply not worth looking at! I do supply photos for some of my blogs, but cannot do so for all.
Thanks for pictures. I have definitely seen a couple of harlequin ladybirds in my garden and have been keeping a nettle patch for butterflies so I will now investigate them for lava. Only seen 1 bona fide ladybird this year though I keep looking out for them
I am confused about the Harlequin ladybird - is the concern that they will drive out our native species? Or are there other aspects of concern? Do they bite/sting/ destroy habbitats? I am concerned as for the past 18 months I have noticed that we have ladybirds in our 138 year old church - I believe they are Harlequin. What sort of potential damage are they capable of in an old beamed building? And is there anyway I can attract them to a central point and transfer them out of the building? Jo
I live in Worcestershire, and have only seen a couple of ladybirds all summer. Same goes for their larvae. I garden organically on both my allotment and garden, and usually see many, but their numbers have dramatically declined over the past 2years. Maybe the high rainfall has had something to do with it? Unfortunately, all species of aphid appear to be thriving in these conditions. Re' demands for pictures; I always have my much used and loved Collins Guide to Insects handy-saves time and electricity when needing to ID an insect.Bring back books I say!!
Posts
Our wildlife blogger Richard Jones has kindly supplied some images of 2-spot and harlequin ladybird larvae and pupae, which we've now added to the blog. Explanatory text is in the 'Update' section beneath Pippa's blog. Hope this helps!
Regards,
Daniel
The Gardeners' World web team
Plant name is Moneymaker.--first time--all
previous were Ailsa Craig-great but prone to dark-green "bottoms" which turned bad
eventually--why ? Your comments welcomed.
George Sylvester( Devon )
definitely seen a couple of
harlequin ladybirds in my garden and have been keeping a nettle patch for butterflies so I will now investigate them for lava. Only seen 1 bona fide ladybird this year though I keep looking out for them
Re' demands for pictures; I always have my much used and loved Collins Guide to Insects handy-saves time and electricity when needing to ID an insect.Bring back books I say!!