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Do I encourage or "dispatch" these insect?
Sue & Mutton
Posts: 125
Our soil is full of these - dozens of them in pockets around the garden. I wonder if they are newly hatched as although they have wings they're not flying - just crawling about. They're not on any plants (yet) just on and in the soil. Any ideas what they are please. Some of them have red heads instead of black. Sorry about the poor quality of the picture.
Last edited: 21 April 2017 19:52:37
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Its hard to tell what size they are Sue as there is nothing to show scale in the picture but that looks like a flying ant. It is too early for them though. If the fly is very tiny then it could be a sciarid fly.
Don't know what they are, but the only insect pests I dispatch are Lily Beetles, which have no predators in the UK.
The rest are all part of Nature's rich pattern and provide food for someone. They may also be important pollinators ... bees don't do it all.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
St. Mark's Fly?
https://www.buglife.org.uk/bugs-and-habitats/st-marks-fly
Yes, that's them Alan - thanks for your help. Just goes to prove you can be an ugly looking critter but be a source of good! You were right about them being good important pollinators Dovefromabove - I AM waging war on the lily beetles though!!