Insects - where are they?

Baggs thank you for posting, what a beautiful garden and array of wild flowers, it reminds me of the wonderful ‘Flower Fairy’s’ books.

Was this established when you brought the property? Or was it letting bits take hold with the seeds already being in the soil?

Oldbat1

The local farmer was in his fields spraying earlier this week. I walk my dog down the public footpath and also on the pavement next to the road and have been so upset at the number of bees Ive seen dead and dying since the spraying. I must admit when I saw him spraying I turned round and went home because I didn’t want to breath in the pesticide.

I've seen some pictures on FB of dead pees.

If a farmer or anyone has to spray then they should do so late evening or night-time when the bees have gone back to their hives.

dead bees

Baggs

*Dilly*, here are a few bits. The first is of part of the front lawn taken on 25 May. The flowers are daisies and Yellow pimpernel but there are leaves of various other flowers there too, such as wild angelica which flowers later.

The second was taken 1 June and shows pignut in part of the back garden.

Third taken 6 June showing pignut and orange hawkweed, with heath bedstraw beneath them.

I've just realised that orange hawkweed is what I call fox and cubs.

Yes it is, calli.

It's a good splash of colour.

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202206/medium-177151-518f976c-74c4-479a-91cd-5dc075ee0dca.jpeg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202206/medium-248941-2e89b5e7-2179-489e-bef1-d6997a9c61a7.jpeg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202206/medium-466706-15372762-adce-4dd2-a8c4-a1b5718ee1a6.jpeg

Coincidentally my husband and I were discussing the lack of insects on the car windscreen just this afternoon and remembering how we used to have to wash them off after long summer journeys.

Our front garden was left un-mown in May, but we did ‘no mow May’ from February to June in the back garden - in fact we only cut the grass a week ago. Unfortunately the soil in the back garden is really good, so not really great for wildflowers; we’re about to swap it for the soil from the front garden, which isn’t so fertile. Both gardens are planted to attract ‘birds, bees, butterflies and bugs’ as my grandson says.

Our allotment has also been full of insects, butterflies and moths this year. The blossom has been spectacular and has attracted lots of pollinators. Just yesterday I spotted a beautiful Cinnabar Moth on the raspberries.

Plenty here I was walking with my daughter yesterday evening and were bee bombed by loads of bees