Nature Blog by Jenny Bourne

It’s that time of the year again when wasps nests appear in sometimes unwanted places, often leading to consternation from plotholders and sometimes queries about how to get rid of these nests. However, the best advice is to leave well alone if at all possible and value these social insects for their predatory and pollinating uses

This is National Allotment Week (12-18 August) and the National Allotment Society is highlighting the importance of biodiversity on your plot – this year’s theme: ‘Celebrating Biodiversity on UK Allotments’:

Do you know your Speckled Wood from a Marbled White? Your Gatekeeper from your Meadow Brown? The Big Butterfly Count ends on 4th August so there’s still time to dedicate fifteen minutes to sitting down, observing and logging the number of butterflies you can identify in an area of your allotment or garden.

The beekeeper needs to keep up regular hive inspections from late March until mid-November to check on the health of the colony as it builds up for the summer ensuring they have enough food and space to accommodate the growing number of bees that make up the expanding colony.

On a warm afternoon last Sunday Jem presented a talk on beekeeping to an audience of plotholders with Rose and Neta; all three of them are members of Kingston Beekeepers Association,