‘Gardening for wildlife and a look beyond’, a talk by John Walters

In the first part of his talk, John told us about the wildlife that he has attracted to his garden in Buckfastleigh since he and his family moved to their present house in 1999. Initially he let wildflowers grow but that was not entirely satisfactory so about ten years ago he started to reconstruct the garden. He recycled old tyres to make plant holders, added a pond and planted flowers which provide food for bees and other insects. He has recently created a bog garden using plastic liner and tyres set in the ground. Here he has planted iris and purple loosestrife.

Blackbirds wash in the pond and it is popular with mating frogs. This year there were just 15 or so but they came early, in late January. Seventy is the record. The tadpoles need warmth and like to sunbathe by the shallow edge of the pond. They feed on green algae. A few newts have visited but the pond is too small for toads.

A compost bin is an interesting addition to a garden attracting a range of species including a tiny earwig. John does not use pesticides. He grows rocket in pots using netting to discourage the slugs and last year was delighted to have hedgehogs back in the garden. They live under his shed. The leopard slug is unusual, hanging on a rope of mucous to mate. He sometimes sees a shelled slug which spends most of its time underground and feeds on earthworms. Various species of bee are present including the leafcutter bee and the sharp-tailed bee which parasitises it. The hairy-footed flower bee nests in his cob brick bee hotel. They emerge early and are often mistaken for bumblebees but have long hairs on their legs. John showed us a video of the black female. Lungwort is a popular food plant. He attracted mining bees by adding sand to a south-facing flower bed. A bee fly, another bee parasite, is a regular visitor. Bees and their parasites have long co-existed, the bees staying one step ahead. Fleabane is a useful food plant for late-flying bees.

Various butterflies and moths visit the garden. Cuckoo flower attracts orange tip butterflies as the caterpillars feed on it. Rotten apples attract red admirals but their caterpillars need stinging nettles. Bird’s-foot-trefoil is the food plant of the common blue butterfly caterpillar and cinnabar moth caterpillars feed on ragwort. The elephant hawk-moth caterpillar feeds on willowherb and mullein is the food plant of the mullein moth caterpillar. Valerian attracts the silver Y moth, a regular migrant from the Mediterranean. The hummingbird hawk moth caterpillar feeds on bedstraw which John grows in a tyre hung on the wall. Other plants which John recommended are ivy which provides a late source of nectar, grape hyacinth, poppy and Michaelmas daisy.

Stick insects were accidentally imported into the UK about 50 years ago and John has some in his garden. They are parthenogenic, unfertilised females laying eggs which hatch. They are related the speckled cricket, oak bush cricket and field grasshopper which also occur in his garden. Teasel attracts goldfinches and blackcaps will feed on apples spiked on a tree. Apples also attract mistle thrush and fieldfare in cold weather. Cotoneaster provides food for bees while it is in blossom and redwings like the berries. Log piles can attract wood mice, wrens and slow worms.

In the second part of his talk John covered some recent wildlife stories illustrated by his photos and videos. These included:

• an enormous blue-fin tuna, which has made a comeback in recent years, hunting mackerel off Start Point;

• an Atlantic salmon jumping the rapids below Castle Drogo on the River Teign to reach its spawning ground;

• a yellow loosestrife bee, which collects huge balls of pollen on its legs, feeding on yellow loosestrife by the Exeter Ship Canal;

• a puss moth caterpillar squeezing out of its hard chrysalis made from silk combined with wood.

• a female wasp spider’s large egg cocoon full of tiny spiderlings;

• a cuckoo chick in a meadow pipit’s nest on Dartmoor and a meadow pipit standing on the back of a large juvenile to feed it;

• two male adders wrestling for the right to mate with a pheromone-producing female;

• goldcrests snuggling up together in the cold and a family flock of long-tailed tits forming a roost, new arrivals making for a spot in the middle of the row.

We thank John for a fascinating and beautifully illustrated talk giving us ideas of new ways to attract wildlife to our gardens.

Helen Baker