Insects
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The ancient trees in our forests provide homes to a great variety of beetles and other insects.   Look for the wood bored tunnels in the decaying centres of veteran trees or in fallen logs where you may also find the  gentle hornet .   The water meadows  that border  the Stort at Thorley Wash, Sawbridgeworth Marsh and and Hunsdon Meads are  wonderful places for butterflies and dragonflies.  A prime location for chalkhill blue and marbled  white butterflies is Therfield Heath in Hertfordshire. The first migrant painted ladies come in at the Naze and Hadleigh Country park in Essex.   

Recently, rarer butterflies have been seen to be increasing their range - 

Silver-washed Fritillary in Hatfield Forest

Purple Emperor in Broxbourne Wood

 
Hornet

Burnet moth   

  Comma

Black-tailed Skimmer dragonfly

 

 
It has often been stated that, collectively,  our gardens are our greatest nature reserves and if we are careful to exclude all chemical pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers, we can do much to safeguard  threatened butterflies and bumble bees.  A healthy organic garden will support a wonderful inter-related web of insects and birds  that will provide balanced bio-diversity without letting any pest species dominate.

Bumble bee on hardy geranium

 
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