August in the Garden
The latest addition to the Wildlife Garden's list of critters is the (potentially alarming if you're not a great fan) Wasp Spider.
This species has been expanding in Southern England over the last few years but this is the first season we've seen it here. It enjoys eating grasshoppers so it should do okay in the meadow. Also seen at the beginning of August was the bee-killer wasp which stocks its nest with paralysed honey bees ready for its hatcing larvae, and the hoverfly Volucella inanis - a little smaller than the big hoverfly Volucella zonaria (which is often mistaken for a hornet). Both these are seen each year at Roots and Shoots - London gardens have always been a stronghold for them, and both are parasitic on wasp nests (and hornets) - their larvae eat the debris at the base of nests.
