There are definitely more bugs around this year, especially aphids. They do not normally cause us any problems but this year they have been a pest. The tops of the broad beans have been covered for the first time in many years. There are also mealy cabbage aphids on the brassicas. The rhubarb leaf spray seems to have worked well (see this page.)
I have only seen one very small ladybird (ladybug in the US) in the garden this year. Usually we see loads of adults and plenty of larvae but there are none. An article on the BBC web site could explain why. Evidently the spread of the alien Harlequin ladybird is having a huge effect on native species.
Some scientists are recommending the introduction of a mite that makes the Harlequin bug infertile but as ever I doubt that will be such a clear cut solution. Messing with nature rarely works out as other ‘experiments’ have shown. I have thought of buying in some ladybird larvae but maybe it’s a bit late in the season for that.
Related posts:
