SilentGuy Posted July 19, 2013 Report Share Posted July 19, 2013 ...pitchers not catching the same amount of the critters this year than they did the previous years? I know they are still catching some, but i've yet to see one actually fall in this year. Last year, they were queuing up and often more than once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattynatureboy44 Posted July 20, 2013 Report Share Posted July 20, 2013 I have to agree, mine are not catching hardly any and some are still empty! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mantrid Posted July 20, 2013 Report Share Posted July 20, 2013 (edited) I think insect numbers are down at the moment due to the cold wet summer last year hindering their breeding, and followed by the long winter and very cold spring means their numbers will take time to recover. Ive particularly noticed a lack of Aphids this year and also their predators. Ive seen very few bees this year too Edited July 20, 2013 by mantrid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corky Posted July 20, 2013 Report Share Posted July 20, 2013 i noticed my flytraps are not catching anywhere near as much as in previous years,glad i saw this thread as i thought of asking the same question Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilentGuy Posted July 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2013 I think insect numbers are down at the moment due to the cold wet summer last year hindering their breeding, and followed by the long winter and very cold spring means their numbers will take time to recover. Ive particularly noticed a lack of Aphids this year and also their predators. Ive seen very few bees this year too While I've seen fewer bees and wasps, aphids and flies are another matter. While not as much as other years, still quite a bit. They seem really reluctant to want hang around the pitchers. Mostly fly on the lids, eat some of the dried nectar there and then just fly back off - rarely venturing into the lip/under the hood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ordovic Posted July 20, 2013 Report Share Posted July 20, 2013 Insect numbers are definately down over all where I am, especially flies and capture rates are similarly low. I'm actually seeing more bees than last year here and contrary to Mantrid I've noticed a boom in aphids generally, due to a severe shortage of ladybirds. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corky Posted July 20, 2013 Report Share Posted July 20, 2013 good observation ,do not think i remember even seeing a ladybird yet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattynatureboy44 Posted July 20, 2013 Report Share Posted July 20, 2013 good observation ,do not think i remember even seeing a ladybird yet Come to think of it neither have I Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewComs Posted July 20, 2013 Report Share Posted July 20, 2013 I've seen a couple of ladybird larvae on my plants, feasting on the aphids Alot of flies, but less bees and wasps (and butterflies). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blocky71 Posted July 20, 2013 Report Share Posted July 20, 2013 I had an invasion of aphids at the start of the season, provado cleared that up, then it was slugs, I've never seen as many as this year, maybe that's due to the wet start to the year?. I don't like using sprays and pellets but with the amount of plants crammed into such a small space there's very little option. I don't expect my plants to catch the same as they would have out in the garden but they seem to be doing ok for food. The greenhouse is always buzzing with the latest victims, mainly houseflies I'm glad to say. It was hover flies last couple of years which is a bit upsetting as I'm fairly fond of them little beasts. I've not seen a ladybug, cricket, grasshopper, wasp, hedgehog, bats or many of the other creatures I associate with summer. We have had lots of slow worms in the garden though this year and they're supposed to be in decline?. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexis Posted July 20, 2013 Report Share Posted July 20, 2013 It's probably because most of the insects out there are plastered on the front of my car! Took out some enormous moths on the motorway tonight - thunk thunk splat! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Davis Posted July 21, 2013 Report Share Posted July 21, 2013 I have seen quite a few insects. I saw about 3 ladybirds yesterday for the first time this year. No aphids but they will boom later on. Lots of moths and spiders and slugs. Too many spiders actually, there was about 20 in my bathroom yesterday! Also lots of flies and ants. I have seen a few bees but not many. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mantrid Posted July 21, 2013 Report Share Posted July 21, 2013 Too many spiders actually, there was about 20 in my bathroom yesterday! Also lots of flies and ants. I have seen a few bees but not many. You may want to check for breaks or holes in your walls or roof if you are getting this many spiders. If spiders are getting in easily then more damaging insects will also be able to get in such as wood worm that can cause thousands of pounds of damage and effect the structure of the house. Holes may also be large enough to let in small mammals such as mice and even rats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookie0117 Posted July 21, 2013 Report Share Posted July 21, 2013 Strange year for everyone. My allotment site flooded really badly end of last year and this year there has been hardly any slugs/snails about. There was loads of aphids/blackfly about but in the last month the number of ladybirds and larvae has boomed hugely. My corgette leafs are covered in ladybird larvae making the change to adulthood. Also noticed that my VFT all seem to be full of daddy long legs?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
North West Neps Posted July 21, 2013 Report Share Posted July 21, 2013 (edited) I've seen a couple of ladybird larvae on my plants, feasting on the aphids Alot of flies, but less bees and wasps (and butterflies). Bees have been in decline since 2008/9 and seeing as they're responsible for pollinating a third of the food we eat, we're going to be well screwed if they continue to diminish at the current rate Some interesting reading.... www.vanishingbees.co.uk www.ejfoundation.org www.pan-europe.info I've seen two bees come through my open windows to inspect my plants so far this summer, but i make sure i "shoo" them back out. I appreciate this is an impossible task for those who grow their plants outdoors, but if you can prevent or postpone a bees death, then please try to do so. Even if your intervention only manages to extend a bees life by a few minutes or hours, they can do an awful lot of pollinating in that time. It's not confirmed, but it's reckoned to be the fault of huge multinational pesticide companies, but it always comes down to the little people like us to try and repair the damage. Edited July 21, 2013 by Welshy 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilentGuy Posted July 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2013 I've had a lot of bees end up in my sarracenia's last year when I went to inspect them. Offered them a wooden skewer to cling onto and fly itself to freedom..... I think some ended up in the pitchers next door the next day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimfoxy Posted July 22, 2013 Report Share Posted July 22, 2013 Most insects are late this year, as with most wildlife. Craneflies recently exploded onto the scene along with aphids here around Cambridge. Bees have picked up in numbers (both my little boy and myself have been stung by honey bees on clover flowers in the lawn for the first time this year!). Not many wasps around but I think they are just around the corner. It is nice not having so many early insects for my Sarras to eat. The pitchers look good for longer and only now am I starting to detect the first stench of decaying flies. A weirdness for me this year was finding an Orange Ladybird on one of my potato plants one night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoLongFairWell Posted July 23, 2013 Report Share Posted July 23, 2013 Something was doing the death scream in there this evening while I was potting up some newly acquired young Dionaea. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Davis Posted July 26, 2013 Report Share Posted July 26, 2013 You may want to check for breaks or holes in your walls or roof if you are getting this many spiders. If spiders are getting in easily then more damaging insects will also be able to get in such as wood worm that can cause thousands of pounds of damage and effect the structure of the house. Holes may also be large enough to let in small mammals such as mice and even rats. nah, they come in through the window because they are always open. the moths also use this method to get in but what are you going to do if you want a cool and breezy house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoLongFairWell Posted July 27, 2013 Report Share Posted July 27, 2013 (edited) Here we go guys. Dead Centre of the screen on the lip of the tallest Slack's maxima pitcher. Edited July 27, 2013 by Richard Bunn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilentGuy Posted July 27, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2013 Don't see it. I think you shot it just a bit low that it doesn't show the lip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoLongFairWell Posted July 27, 2013 Report Share Posted July 27, 2013 It falls in 5 seconds in. You can see it happen through the pitcher wall. It's not a great shot but it was in a hurry when I saw the fly there looking a bit drunk. It's the first one I saw this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilentGuy Posted July 27, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2013 ok I see it now. I thought you were talking about the flying one, and the really tall pitcher on the righthand side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoLongFairWell Posted July 28, 2013 Report Share Posted July 28, 2013 No it's the same plant as the really tall one on the right but it;s a smaller trap to the centre instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenofeden Posted July 30, 2013 Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 Wasps appearing now... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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