Here are some common garden creatures that you might come
across while gardening. Not all are enemies and can indeed
be beneficial, eg. preying on other creatures which damage
crops or flowers. It is a fundamental law of nature to eat and be eaten so the beneficial creatures
need a supply of what we consider pests, to survive. We may have replaced our hunter-gatherer skills
with a shopping trolley and credit card, but this option is not available in the wild; eg. the
complete removal of slugs and snails would seriously affect the diet of some birds. If they are
not having a detrimental effect, then leave them alone as they all form part of the natural
balance between flora and fauna which gives us the beauty we all strive for. Indeed, the idea of having a wildlife-friendly garden is becoming more popular.
There are some real villains, Vine Weevils and New Zealand Flatworms being the most notable. These
two add to their dastardliness by the fact that they do not need a mate to reproduce, so if only
one individual is brought into the garden they can establish themselves. There are a few new
"aliens" which have been spotted
recently. The big problem with introduced species is that they are not part of the existing
food chain so may not have a natural predator; our biggest defence against them is our
climate, which fortunately kills off most of the creatures accidently carried here on
plants or in food imports. However, the recent general warming in the weather has allowed some of them to survive.
Some can be used to control others which are present in abundance and are damaging ornamental or crop plants. These biological controls have to be used carefully or they can become pests themselves. Also plants can be genetically modified to produce their own defenses against attack.
While there are many proprietary products for dealing with pests their side effects are not always desirable. Over the centuries gardeners have made concoctions of their own, some of which are described on the Recipes page.
The following creatures have been arranged as Friends, those with Some Bad Habits and The Enemy depending on how they behave in the garden. Some of the friendly creatures may not do anything physical to help, but their presence adds to the pleasure of the garden. The life cycles of insects involve forms which can have different diets, so although Moths are considered benign and important pollinators, their larvae are amongst the most destructive to plant-life.
FRIENDS
