Minibeasts!

Autumn is a great time in the garden; growth is slowing down, there is more time for planning crops and it's easier to hunt for minibeasts.

Yes, those fabulous little bugs that can be either friend or foe when you're trying to grow food.

We've seen a great range of bugs (and their predators) amongst the food crops; the leaves of the swede are the best expample, it seems like an entire colony of thrip have descended upon the Mandama Food forest!

Not to be disheartened, we just have to be patient and wait for the predators to arrive and feast on these sap sucking insects - and they will come, they always do, patience is the key!

Closer inspection and tada!!

There are ladybird, lacewing and hoverflieds eggs galore!

All these fabulous predators are an asset in any food garden, as they clean up the pests in no time at all.

Beneficial insects are attracted by the available pollen. They're nectar-feeders coming for the pollen, but stay to lay their babies - and their babies clean up the problems.

A parasitic wasp, specific to the rose aphid, lays its egg inside the aphid and eats it from the inside out leaving a mummy behind. When the parasitic wasp larvae have developed, they eat their way out of the mummy, leaving a hole on the backside. One wasp can wipe out hundreds of aphids.