Pollinators, Predators and Parasites with Nigel Stone

Thursday 20th February 2025

We are indebted to Nigel Stone of Chiselborough for stepping into the breach when Mark Musgrave from the National Trust’s Lytes Cary had to pull out due to illness. We will re-arrange with Mark in due course as many people were looking forward to his talk about wildlife friendly farming. 

I’d already had the conversation with Nigel about him doing his talk for us early in 2026. In the end he was a year ahead, with only 24 hours notice! He gave us a fascinating and in-depth look at the wildlife he has recorded in his Chiselborough garden between April 2021 and the end of 2024. He has photographed and identified an astonishing 850 species including:

• 43 birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians
• 70 spiders 
• 746 insects, including:
• 353 butterflies and moths
• 131 hoverflies and other flies
• 122 bees and wasps

He showed us Chiselborough from the air to help us see how the local wildlife benefits from a common, woodland, many other gardens and is not bounded closely by intensively managed agricultural land. Lots of residents go out of their way to encourage wildlife – see Wild About Chiselborough Facebook Group. He also showed us how some migratory species, including butterflies, moths, and hoverflies from southern Europe and Africa find their way to his garden, and back again, giving examples of Painted Ladies, Olive Tree Pearl moth, and the Locust Blowfly. 

Nigel is a self-confessed non-plantsman. He told us he doesn’t grow plants for plants-sake but for the food and homes that the plants provide for wildlife, particularly plants for pollinators. We are all probably most familiar with bees as pollinators but, again, some staggering statistics regarding pollinators: 

• Bees: 24 bumble bees (8 in Nigel’s garden); the honey-bee; 260 species of solitary bee (36 in his garden)
• Wasps: 7 species of social wasps; 250 species solitary; 1,000’s other wasps
• Moths: 2,500 species; 900 species of larger moth
• Butterflies: 59 species
• Flies: 270 species hoverfly (40 species in his garden); 1,000’s other flies
• Beetles: 1,000 species (one quarter of all beetles)

In particular Nigel shared his knowledge and experience of bee “hotels”. Rather than one hotel in one place, which can become a target for predators and parasites, and thus no new generation of bees, he suggests small bundles of bamboo canes in sheltered spots. He took us through, in great detail, how mason and leaf cutter bees build their cells in canes, pack them with pollen and lay their eggs. The outer-most 5cms of cane is left clear. Why? Woodpeckers have a long tongue and would eat everything within 5cms: more than 5cms in and they can’t reach that far. Nigel cleverly cuts lengths of cane in half lengthways and tapes them back together. Later he can then un-tape, open up and examine just what is going on within the cells. It is through these investigations that he’s learned about parasites of mason and leaf cutter bees. He also introduced us to mining bees: three quarters of all wild bee species nest in the soil and spend much of their life cycle underground. 

Butterflies and moths play a significant role in pollination. Nigel has recorded 20 species of butterfly in his garden. His moth trapping revealed a Gypsy moth in 2023. His Facebook post had this response: 

• Gypsy Moth – Lymantria dispar male. Moth trap 15 Aug 2023. 
• “Wow! that is the first confirmed Gypsy moth this century for Somerset and only the second ever record!”

Predators come in many shapes and sizes and species. 9 species of social wasps certainly aren’t “sociable” in this respect. The European hornet is one of these. We’re familiar with spiders as predators but one solitary wasp hunts spiders, catching them and taking them to their nest for their larvae to feed on. Many hoverflies are welcome predators, taking out unwelcome aphids for the gardener. Pond predators include dragonflies and damselflies (10 species in Nigel’s garden). Add the Great Diving Beetle as another pond predator. 

Perhaps most importantly Nigel told us how we can help the insect life in our gardens. Four “must haves”: flowers, food plants, nest sites, water. Avoid double-flowered varieties of plants – pollinators can’t get in to the pollen and nectar. To help with identification there are phone apps if you can get a photo of the creature, and Facebook Groups to help and share knowledge. Gardening for Bumblebees by David Goulson is an invaluable resource packed full of helpful information. And dare I add……..Nigel regularly comes to our indoor meetings so we have a resident expert to ask should we need to do so. 

Finally he warned us against buying plants from garden centres as the “perfect” plants on show for sale will have usually been doused in insecticides, which often persist for years. Instead try organic nurseries and locally Lower Severalls https://cbplants.co.uk/.

So, here’s to an abundant season ahead. 

© Alison Templeton

Indoor Meetings Secretary