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A welcome visitor this morning to one of our espaliers at our customer centre. Sadly, ladybirds are rapidly on the decline mainly due to habitat loss and changes in our climate. ![]()
Ladybirds are a real gardeners' friend, capable of munching their way through around 5,000 aphids (and other soft bodied plant-eating pests) in their lifetime (which is only 1-2 years).![]()
It is worth while trying to encourage ladybirds to your garden. Planting bee friendly, pollen rich plants will help to attract them. They also love to lay their eggs in clusters amongst nettles, so do leave areas of nettles untouched if you can. ![]()
The bright colour and markings of a ladybird are their own clever way of protecting themselves. If attacked, they will produce a nasty tasting oily substance. Their bright colour serves as a reminder that if "you have tasted one like me before, you will remember how we taste truly revolting !"![]()
Ladybirds can be of various shades of orange, red and even yellow and will have different numbers of spots.![]()
We would love to see your photos!
Are lots of your apples falling early? If so, it may be due to 'false autumn' - a heatwave followed by cool, damp weather that confuses the trees.![]()
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There's not much that can be done at this point, but in future this kind of event can be mitigated by regular watering and lots of mulch.
