On Tue, 06 Aug 2013 18:54:37 +0100, David Hill
wrote:

Took a look at my runner beans this morning, a mass of flower but many
an insect on them, well there were 2 bumble bees on the white flowered
ones and nothing on the red.pruned

Here, earlier in the year, there was a real abundance of hoverflies,
co-inciding with the hawthorn flowering on the waste ground next door.
But despite lots of insect-attracting plants from the early flowerers
through to those now in flower, I have seen few bees so far this year.
Only cabbage white butterflies. One ladybird (but no green/black/white
fly).Very few froghoppers. For the first time in many years, and
despite growing about 200 lilies of various types, I haven't had to
resort to the Provado spray as the lily beetle numbers have been low
and easy to pick and squish.

I have yet to see a wasp.

Slugs and snails have been few though my use of nematode treatments
from early in the year may have reduced the slug population further
than the weather seems to have done.

As in previous years, the thrush population disappeared in late
spring. This year the hedgehogs did likewise. At the beginning of the
rainy season last week, there was an exodus of frogs from the pond
which hopped in a line across the lawn to their winter stomping ground
at the back of the shrubbery (where leaves are left to pile up).

OTOH, fruit production (apart from a glut of strawberries and
raspberries, still ongoing) is:
1 pear tree - natch (after 5 years, this goes!)
1 plum tree - natch (on probation; if no fruit next year it goes)
7 apple trees - so far a total of 8 fruits are developing (again none
on the Braeburn so it's going)
1 cherry tree - 4 cherries
3 blackcurrant bushes - 4 blackcurrants looked like developing but I
"forgot" to net them.

Meanwhile the house has been inundated with those little compost
flies. I wouldn't mind other than the last compost in the house was in
May! I've now got those yellow sticky traps hanging from the light
fittings in the middle of every room!!!!



--
Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Wilting just a little at the east end of Swansea Bay.