The Air is a Hummin'

The longer I live here, the more I realise how utterly fascinating, insects are. When we live in a town or city, we may barely be aware of insects , apart from the odd spider , clothes moth, or, if one is unlucky, cockroach. Once I thought of insects as mere nuisances , and...confession ...I may have even stamped upon the odd spider. But now I regard most of them as our friends and fellow residents in this amazing spot. Indeed, I would now name the spider as one of my very favourite insects. Who can help but admire the yellow garden orb spider as it painstakingly weaves its elaborate web. One year we watched in wonder, as one took up residence on the windowsill outside a bedroom, and rebuilt its web every single day. And why worry about a few cobwebs in the house,when they help to rid us of pesky flies? Yes! I do resent flies indoors, but when I spot one of the more beautifully coloured flies on the wing, I cannot help but admire these too.

There are so many different varieties of spider, from tiny ones no bigger than a bread crumb, to the large house spider with its eyes on stalks. I confess that I am no expert. But stamp on them? No! Not any more.

This little fellow with the most delicate of long legs, has decided to spin his web amongst the leaves of my house plant. He is a kind of vibrating spider that spins around and around when he gets in a tizz. How could I possibly think of doing him harm?

Whilst the spider skulks unseen and unheard, the cicada announces his arrival with a joyful chirruping that fills the forest with noise. They were late arriving this year, but now they are here and in full song. Who can begrudge them this joyful period in the summer sun, as the male calls loudly to attract his mate? For they have endured an inordinate time under the ground as grubs.

.As we did last year , we left our grass to grow tall , and only cut it recently after it had seeded. In this way we hoped to preserve the myriad of insects that live amongst it, as well as the pyramidal and other wild orchids. But cut it in the end , we must, for as the heat intensifies, so does the risk of fire. But one small area B. has left unmown for the moment. It is here that I love to gaze, for myriads of butterflies and bees hover around it, searching for nectar amongst the wild flowers.

But there are many other ways we can preserve insect life too, such as by leaving areas of logs and natural debris about the place; turning out lights at night to save moths; cutting down on harmful pet flea treatments; and reporting sightings of invasive creatures such as the Asian hornet. And by seeking out bio(organic) products to purchase, that way too we are encouraging less intensive production methods, and a reduction in the use of insecticides.

Here are a few of the many Butterflies and Moths that we have seen here over the years.

Sometimes, great big dragonflies come blundering through the open doors of our conservatory. But once they fly free, they are beautiful gracious creatures. Even more so, the delicate damsel flies which hover lightly over our pool, their electric blue or vermillion colours reflecting the sun. Last year we spotted where a Blue dasher Dragonfly had laid its eggs on the flag iris growing in our pond.

Every single insect, be it big or small, is worthy of our admiration, but no more so than the ant. Whilst the tiny ones that invade our house from time to time may be a little irritating, they are certainly persistent and extremely well organised. Every summer I love to watch the colony of bigger ants that parades in single file from morning till night, along the border of our swimming pool. Where they are going, or what they are doing , I haven't a clue, but whatever it is, one of them will often stop in passing to address his fellow ant who is scurrying the other way. What is he telling him, and how does he communicate his message? I would love to know. Should they find a dead insect nearby, they will descend on it. Soon they will have organised themselves with the precision of an army unit, and transported it away. When occasionally we eat breakfast under the rock, we spot single tiny ants struggling off bearing enormous flakes of croissant aloft, many times their own size, like a ship in sail.

Many insects we see from time to time, but there are myriads of others that we will never know about hiding out there in the forest. Here a few of them that we have spotted.

As I close this blog,we have just passed the longest day of the year, and dusk has barely turned into night. As the heat of the day fades, the cicadas fall silent. But all is not quiet, for their sound is replaced by the chirping of the grillons (crickets.) which is so redolent of evenings in Africa. Today I rescued the tiniest of grillons from the swimming pool. It was so tiny it clung to the tip of my finger before it leapt to freedom. I lingered a while , fearing it might jump back into the water. Occasionally we spot bigger crickets who venture near the house. They are magnificent creatures, , as this picture shows.

As we fall asleep, the crickets continue to chirrup. Tomorrow will be another day, as the air fills up with a myriad of insects once more, in search of nectar. Where would we be without them?