Two recent things brought insects into focus for me again, one was a trip to Lincolnshire in May where the weather driving down was very warm and on arrival I observed the the front of the car had more dead bugs on than I had seen for years. The second was the return at home of Swifts screaming around the house in an aerial display that would not disgrace the red arrows. Two indicators that we have more insects about in general than recent years. Swifts feed in flight on flying insects such as hoverflies. There is a national movement to put up more Swift boxes and even incorporate swift habitats in the form of special bricks in new builds. Old Glossop Residents Association who we work closely with are very keen on providing Swift habitats locally. Hoverflies feed on nectar as do other insects but unlike most insects they need to feed on flatter flower heads or Umbellifers broad flowerheads made up of lots of little flowers like Cow Parsley. So Umbellifers are on the planting list! Finally it was interesting to note that Chris Packham on Springwatch this year remarked that the insect population was up. All good news and fingers crossed it is not a blip.
