Most exciting event in my garden today: baby blackbirds flew the nest
near my back door.

Saddest event in my garden today: found a baby blackbird on back-door
mat close to step! No sign of others. Moved "him" onto border, at
which he chirped a bit. Later I could not see him. Fingers crossed for
him.

Nastiest job in my garden today: finger-squishing lily beetle larva in
their poo, plus two lily beetles.

Pam in Bristol

In article , Pam Moore
writes
Most exciting event in my garden today: baby blackbirds flew the nest
near my back door.

Saddest event in my garden today: found a baby blackbird on back-door
mat close to step! No sign of others. Moved "him" onto border, at
which he chirped a bit. Later I could not see him. Fingers crossed for
him.

Just after leaving the nest is a very vulnerable time. Most birds lay
more than the two eggs theoretically required to keep the population
constant, and most aim for more than one brood each year - so there is
quite a high wastage rate. Sad for us with our different standards. But
all you can do is try to make your garden as easy as possible for them,
with undisturbed nest sites and plenty of food sources. And do what you
did - leave it to the parents to sort out and resist any feeling that a
fledgling needs 'rescuing'.

Nastiest job in my garden today: finger-squishing lily beetle larva in
their poo, plus two lily beetles.

rubber gloves? Or are you feeling sorry for the larvae?
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

"Kay" wrote in message
...
In article , Pam Moore
writes
Most exciting event in my garden today: baby blackbirds flew the nest
near my back door.

Saddest event in my garden today: found a baby blackbird on back-door
mat close to step! No sign of others. Moved "him" onto border, at
which he chirped a bit. Later I could not see him. Fingers crossed for
him.

Just after leaving the nest is a very vulnerable time. Most birds lay
more than the two eggs theoretically required to keep the population
constant, and most aim for more than one brood each year - so there is
quite a high wastage rate. Sad for us with our different standards. But
all you can do is try to make your garden as easy as possible for them,
with undisturbed nest sites and plenty of food sources. And do what you
did - leave it to the parents to sort out and resist any feeling that a
fledgling needs 'rescuing'.

Nastiest job in my garden today: finger-squishing lily beetle larva in
their poo, plus two lily beetles.

rubber gloves? Or are you feeling sorry for the larvae?
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"


We got those pesky lily beetles this year. Strangely they all dissapeared
before I had chance to squash them. Not really sure what killed them, but it
may have been some traces of pesticide still remaining from earlier in the
year when the aphids tried to attack them...
That said, they managed to eat their way through quite a bit of foliage
before dissapearing.
Now no sign of beetles, grups, or poo!

Matt

On Tue, 19 Jul 2005 20:43:47 GMT, "Matt Durkin"
wrote:

We got those pesky lily beetles this year. Strangely they all dissapeared
before I had chance to squash them. Not really sure what killed them, but it
may have been some traces of pesticide still remaining from earlier in the
year when the aphids tried to attack them...
That said, they managed to eat their way through quite a bit of foliage
before dissapearing.
Now no sign of beetles, grups, or poo!

Be vigilant.
I thought I had got rid of mine, but now they are here again. I'm not
too sure but I think this is a second brood, from the ones earlier in
the year. I remember the same thing happening last year. My
granddaughter (12) loves going out to look for them for me, but she
hasn't been here for a while, hence my discovery today.

Pam in Bristol

"Pam Moore" wrote in message
...


snip
Nastiest job in my garden today: finger-squishing lily beetle larva in
their poo, plus two lily beetles.

Pam in Bristol

Hi Pam,
As the Lily beetle does not have any natural predators in this country, and
they have a habit of diving into the compost when disturbed, if you dont
mind using chemicals, Provado ultimate bug killer does the trick. It is
useful on sweet peas, so no aphids to worry about spreading viruses
Hope this is of some help
regards
Cineman

"Pam Moore" wrote
Be vigilant.
I thought I had got rid of mine, but now they are here again. snip

You might like to donate a few to scientific study. There was an article
recently in my local Eastern Daily Press paper about how researchers at the
John Innes Centre at Norwich had put out an appeal for gardeners to send
them live beetles and especially grubs. I'd been destroying quite a few in
the weeks before it was published but typically haven't seen any since.
Perhaps mine are sneakily lulling me into a false sense of security!

See article: http://tinyurl.co.uk/nrhw

--
Sue