In article ,
(anne) wrote:

Do they lay the eggs in the soil close to brassicas or actually on
them?

On the leaves. Usually the underside.

Steve Harris - Cheltenham - Real address steve AT netservs DOT com

Thanks. These are probably slugs eggs.


Steve Harris wrote in message
...
In article ,
(anne) wrote:

Do they lay the eggs in the soil close to brassicas or actually on
them?

On the leaves. Usually the underside.

Steve Harris - Cheltenham - Real address steve AT netservs DOT com

To Everyone-

Please accept my apologies for the constant repeat of my post listing
buddleia varieties. I only posted it ONCE, honest, but for some reason
it keeps coming back, much to my utter embarrassment. It is NOT me
being pathetically bolshie, just a gremlin in the works. Believe me I
am very embarrassed about it.
And yes, I accept that butterflies/insects do not necessarily conform
to every thing we read :-) Shame it's pouring with rain today. Still,
the sun will shine again soon.

All the best,
Helen

(Steve Harris) wrote in message ...
In article ,
(anne) wrote:

Do they lay the eggs in the soil close to brassicas or actually on
them?

On the leaves. Usually the underside.

And then they hatch out into nice green caterpillars which eat right
through your brassicas and leave piles of green shit between the
leaves. Just about the only things for which I normally use sprays:
I've tried finger-and-thumb work, but couldn't keep up. (Picture the
scene one heat-wave year when the neighbours drove up when I was
crushing cabbage white eggs and larvae dressed only in sandals and a
Panama hat! Me, not the grubs. Oh, all right, don't picture it: I
don't blame you.) A commercial friend gave me some biological control
one year, and it worked well, but I couldn't afford it another time.

Mike.

"Helen" wrote in message
Shame it's pouring with rain today. Still,
the sun will shine again soon.


You post that on a gardening newsgroup when we have had only one other days
rain in weeks? :-)
It's wonderful is this rain, but it didn't last long enough, I thought we
were supposed to be in for a downpour today but all we got was a few hours
of drizzle.

--
Bob

www.pooleygreengrowers.org.uk/ about an Allotment site in
Runnymede fighting for it's existence.

Many thanks for all the advice and comments.

The point about water is well made, and the garden pond will be refurbished
shortly. A more generally insect friendly planting will be done, so I think
we should see an improvement. Given that the garden contains both light and
dark flowered buddlejas, I shall be interested to see just how they compare
in their 'butterfly attracting' - perhaps something for the children to
monitor.

The building structure is the only problem which cannot be solved, but on
the other hand once butterflies and other insects are introduced, they will
have sheltered space to live in.

Thanks again, mbb



"mbb" wrote in message
...
My young sons' school has an (almost) surrounded quadrangle garden, a
simple
lawned area with 3 or 4 mature buddlejas, a neglected pond, and some other
herbaceous beds.

I'm told that it's a pleasant area, but "the bushes don't encourage
butterflies". I know it's a subjective opinion, but might it be true? Are
there situations where the buddleja doesn't attract butterflies? Or is it
the local geography, perhaps?

regards, mbb

In article , mbb michael.blyth@bt
openworld.com writes
Many thanks for all the advice and comments.

The point about water is well made, and the garden pond will be refurbished
shortly. A more generally insect friendly planting will be done, so I think
we should see an improvement. Given that the garden contains both light and
dark flowered buddlejas, I shall be interested to see just how they compare
in their 'butterfly attracting' - perhaps something for the children to
monitor.

The building structure is the only problem which cannot be solved, but on
the other hand once butterflies and other insects are introduced, they will
have sheltered space to live in.

Thanks again, mbb



"mbb" wrote in message
...
My young sons' school has an (almost) surrounded quadrangle garden, a
simple
lawned area with 3 or 4 mature buddlejas, a neglected pond, and some other
herbaceous beds.

I'm told that it's a pleasant area, but "the bushes don't encourage
butterflies". I know it's a subjective opinion, but might it be true? Are
there situations where the buddleja doesn't attract butterflies? Or is it
the local geography, perhaps?

regards, mbb




We now have Butterflies in force, those so far identified from Collins
Complete British Wildlife book are, Peacock, Painted Lady, Red Admiral,
Fritillary (but we don't know which ones because they don't hang around
long enough), AND, we have Bumble Bees and Honey Bees as well.

The question is, has anyone else suddenly got butterflies as well?

Joan and Mike
Isle of Wight

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GREAT TRUTHS ABOUT GROWING OLD :
When you fall down, you wonder what else you can do while you're
down there.

(Rodger Whitlock) wrote in message ...
On Tue, 22 Jul 2003 07:52:48 +0000 (UTC), mbb wrote:

My young sons' school has an (almost) surrounded quadrangle garden, a simple
lawned area with 3 or 4 mature buddlejas, a neglected pond, and some other
herbaceous beds.

I'm told that it's a pleasant area, but "the bushes don't encourage
butterflies". I know it's a subjective opinion, but might it be true? Are
there situations where the buddleja doesn't attract butterflies? Or is it
the local geography, perhaps?

Only adult butterflies feed on buddleias. They must have other
vegetation around. And they like a source of water. Remember that
butterfly larvae often have quite narrow food preferences -- our
black swallowtails, for example, are limited to various
Compositae (Asteraceae).

Fill up those herbaceous beds with a wide variety of material,
make sure the pond has a splash of water in it, and you might be
surprised.

Your black swallowtail caterpillars are not limited to Compositae. In
fact they are far more likly to be using umbellifers.

They are closely related to (and will hybridise with) our British
Swallowtail which in the wild uses only Marsh Hog's Fennel a.k.a Milk
Parsely but which will take other composites and reportedly Rutaceae
in captivity.

--
Neil Jones- http://www.butterflyguy.com/
"At some point I had to stand up and be counted. Who speaks for the
butterflies?" Andrew Lees - The quotation on his memorial at Crymlyn
Bog National Nature Reserve

snip


We now have Butterflies in force, those so far identified from Collins
Complete British Wildlife book are, Peacock, Painted Lady, Red Admiral,
Fritillary (but we don't know which ones because they don't hang around
long enough), AND, we have Bumble Bees and Honey Bees as well.

The question is, has anyone else suddenly got butterflies as well?

Joan and Mike
Isle of Wight

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
GREAT TRUTHS ABOUT GROWING OLD :
When you fall down, you wonder what else you can do while you're
down there.

After complaining about a lack of butterflies, in the last couple of weeks
we have had loads.
The most common are Painted Lady, but we have several Red Admiral and
Peacock as well.
Plus the occasional cabbage white.
There are also small 'fast movers' and a lot of moths in the evening.
Loads of bumble bees but the honey bees are still missing.
The most insects we have seen for years.

Dave R
Suffolk Coast

I Just feel an urge to list the butterfly varieties I saw on a walk
through my home town and into the countryside in the West Country
today :

Large White
Small White
Speckled Wood
Gatekeeper
Small Tortoiseshell
Peacock
Painted Lady
Red Admiral
Meadow Brown


Not many I know, but their colours were so vibrant!
Helen.

I Just feel an urge to list the butterfly varieties I saw on a walk
through my home town and into the countryside in the West Country
today :

Large White
Small White
Speckled Wood
Gatekeeper
Small Tortoiseshell
Peacock
Painted Lady
Red Admiral
Meadow Brown


Not many I know, but their colours were so vibrant!
Helen.

I Just feel an urge to list the butterfly varieties I saw on a walk
through my home town and into the countryside in the West Country
today :

Large White
Small White
Speckled Wood
Gatekeeper
Small Tortoiseshell
Peacock
Painted Lady
Red Admiral
Meadow Brown


Not many I know, but their colours were so vibrant!
Helen.

I Just feel an urge to list the butterfly varieties I saw on a walk
through my home town and into the countryside in the West Country
today :

Large White
Small White
Speckled Wood
Gatekeeper
Small Tortoiseshell
Peacock
Painted Lady
Red Admiral
Meadow Brown


Not many I know, but their colours were so vibrant!
Helen.