Talkback: Southern oak bush-cricket

Gardeners' World Web User

Oh, Richard, now you have me searching my rosemary bushes and, presumably my oak trees, looking for beetles and crickets. The garden gets more and more exciting the more possibilities there are.

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Guess what! Because of all this incessant RAIN the ground beetles are out. I managed to have a good look at one of them and placed it in a safe place. Found out they like slugs and snails, so placed it where I thought the snails and slugs appear from. I still have my nest of flying insects, can see the entrance clearly, they fly like little aeroplanes.

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Richard,
Forgot to say three weeks ago saw my first cricket in ages, three crossing the foot path, they were brown in colour, they were not hopping, so think they were crickets?

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Gosh, you're reminding me of a time I bought home a packet of baby figs from the Alpujarras in Spain that caused our kitchen cupboard to be infested for 2 years with tiny moth-like insects. No matter how we cleaned or threw food out, they came back like Cliff Richard at Christmas. All gone now, however, and I never did find out what they were.

http://www.mandysutter.com/blog/

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Great piece Richard, This year my wild-flower meadow/lawn has been rich with all sorts of bugs including grasshoppers and crickets. Although attempting to watch and photograph them I wasn't aware of the "southern oak bush cricket" and being in Somerset I presume there is a good chance of seeing one of these?....I shall be on the look out for one now!!

http://higgysgardenproject.blogspot.com/

Regards

Higgy

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The weather in Bristol tomorrow promises to be ideal for the Bee and Pollination Week-end. The gardens are looking beautiful; bugs are very plentiful; a beautiful, huge marquee with eight arched windows has been erected for the many stalls and to top it all the international Kite festival is "next door" on the Downs so we should see some spectacular kites flying way above the garden. A week-end treat not to be missed.

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Richard, my ivy thicket, now in flower, where my first generation of holly blues overwintered,is now teaming with red admirals whose caterpillars fed on my nettle clumps. It's been worth all the nettle stings.

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This is my first year of growing vegetables and I am keen to try Monty's recommendation of sowing green manure over winter. However, have scoured garden centres for seeds of rye grass, mustard etc. but to no avail. Where can these seeds be bought please?

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Monty Don mentioned to his dog "go and eat an apple" and commented on the fact that his dog eats many apples from the ground. From experience with lots of different breeds I know of a Labrador that became seriously ill after eating windfalls due to the acid in the apples eating into the wall of the dogs stomach.
Carob the choc lab nearly died and was very sensitive thereafter...

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I have grown a sunflower with 7 flowers on one stem is this common event or unusual

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Saw Rosemary Leaf Beetles for the first time this year in my garden in Tonbridge. They were so beautifully irridescent I had to go and look up what they were.