The aphid eaters

Val discovers a lot of hoverfly activity on her kale plants

- Val Bourne

IN AG 19-26 December 2020 I wrote about my leeks and the disastrous allium leaf miner. The larvae had mined upwards into the leek stems and there were lots of small brown pupae in the layers, waiting to hatch out in the spring. Yum! This was our first skirmish with the allium leaf miner, but wildlife in every form is dynamic (ie, constantly changing) so we may not be so badly affected next year if we can break the cycle and dispose of the pupae.

Things come and go. The harlequin ladybird, once so prevalent here, is now in short supply. We have none in our house, for the first time in years, and last year we had only a few insides. It’s a nationwide decline and this suggests two things to me. First, the wet Augusts of 2019 and 2020 may have disrupted the second generation, which is usually the most prolific. Second, I think an active harlequin parasite must have increased in numbers, for we haven’t seen many in the garden either, despite having lots of seven-spot ladybirds.