Ht]\1E GROT'\T)
u'ith egq capsule
Houseflr' rvith freshlr
iai.l cggs
\\'ine moth on a cork
Jamagecl bl lan'ae
at night and scuttle about the ceilings, catching the various insects ti- came and fluttered around the lights.
In the big stone kitchens, where my mother cooked on charcoal fi:.
and it was warrn and dry, there was a little creature resembling the silr'.
fish called by the charming name of the firebrat. In this area of the hous:
we also had two speciesof cockroach, against which my mother wage. constant unsuccessful battle. I was fascinated by their beauty, for to n-.
they looked as though they were carved out of tortoiseshell and their c-_
cases were so elegant, Iike the most beautiful little ladies' evenLr._
bags. I used to collect these egplcapsules and hatch them out in my roor(unbeknownst to my mother); half I would let go and the other halt .
would feed to my mantis, gecko, tree frogs and so on-I felt this was far:
In the larder, we frequently had invasions of cheesemites and occasror.ally we would get flour mites and rice weevils. Here too, at certain rimeof the year, battalions of ants would invade us to carry off whatever spor,.
they could find, and quite often, when somebody left the larder docopen, a bluebottle fly would be quick to zoom in and lay its eggson an'.
meat it could find. Bluebottles can smell meat from at least four mile.
away. Their little white upright eggswould be laid in small clusters like
miniature tombstones in a microscopic cemetery.
Down in our big cool cellars, which had earth floors and grill.
windows looking out at ground level, the impression was more of a
dungeon in some castle. As there was access through these barrec
windows to the open air, we got a lot of creatures down there. Toads
liked the coolness of the ceilars, voles invaded them and built their nests.
earth\ ,'orms burrowed in the soil and woodlice lived in the cracks of the
walls, for it was damp enough to appeal to these little crustaceans. Here.
too were "daddy-longlegs," omnivorous arachnids which, despite tremb
ling long lanky legs, scrambled up the walls with ease on their nightlrfeeding forays. There were also shade-loving slugs that often used to
annoy my brothers by chewing all the labels off the wine bonles. There
was another creature that threaten"d *y brothers' precious wine and that
was the wine moth, which thrived down in our damp cellars, its larvae
feeding on mold growing in the walls and burrowing into the corks of the
wine bottles. So you can see that a house like this holds so much of
interest that it could give you almost a lifetime of study.
Creatures in residence
Human habitations provide specialized environments. There are as many
hiding places as out of doors but the food supply is usually abundant and
it is usually concentrated in one particular place; in winter there is
warmth and shelter. Many "fypical" house creatures such as the familiar
house mouse have been associatedwith humans for such a lons time that
they have become dependent on us, our domestic animals and our stores
offood and goods.
There are many creatures of course that live on things we don't think
of as food, such as the clothes moths and the various beetles that lay their
eggs on wool, feathers or fur and whose larvae eat the protein keratin.
Keratin itself is not sufficient, however, and so the larvae depend on
"foods" like organic starns on sweaters or 6.rr coats-sweat and food
stains and so on for the vitamins that they need. The silverfish, a very
primitive creature, coming from 300 million year old stock, can digest
26
t
q
ts
,*
HOME GROUND
: \'er\- unusual diet for an animal. Other creatures eat the mold
,:,=:. like some slugs,woodlice and the booklice.
--:
:here are animals that actually live in the structure of the house
the wood-borers, especially the larvae of the longhom and
-e
'.' ,.::;h
beetles. In tropical and subtropical countries, termites are
t:-
- . ,:-eties,which are dominated by queens and have a caste system of
.. ::: :nd workers, are fascinating to study. Another extraordinary
-:'.: '..-ru may find boring into damp wood, mainly hardwoods from
: -r r'-cS, is the ambrosia beetle. The female carries on her body, on
':.:: on her head, or in her digestive tract the spores of a certain
... :: ri fungus. As she gnaws out her passageway,the fungus spores
- ' .'. or are passed out in her excreta. Soon the passagewayis coated
'-' , :Ick growth of fi.rngus which forms the main diet of the beetle
- .. lhe female tends these fungal "gardens" very carefully, fertilizing
: -- , .ih her excrement and keeping the temperature and humidity at
, -;: ier-el by blocking or unblocking the tunnel with wood dust. If
: -,-r.JrS lawn is not closely grazed by the larvae it quite quickly
' :- r:teS unless it is carefully tended by the mother. If at any time she
- --.::reJ, she will quickly swallow as much of her garden as possible
",':: :1e can "plant" it again in a different place.
..,',:
tr:
- ',': :i1onf vertebrates that come into the house, the ubiquitous rats
, *-. ,. come to both feed and breed, and especially to take refuge there
.-: '..''rnter. Other creatures like bats, owls and spaffows come in
-' : .cL-ausethey find a house a suitable area for breeding or shelter. In
--,- .Lmerica, your loft may be invaded by gtuy squirrels or raccoons.
pe, your loft may be home to beech martens and various species
:
, :-:ce. My attic in France is home to a family of garden dormice with
- :- .i-tails and dark spectacle markings round their eyes like a giant
- . .. These charming rodents have one irritating habit they keep us
. . : rv the noise they make rurrring about on the beams. It sounds as
:hev are moving their fumiture all night long.
-:
- ---: tropics of course a wholly different, very rich fauna can be seen
--,-: \'€&r round, so the contents of your house may be quite
--. :jinary. A famous naturalist in the East Indies once described how
- -:rles almost a foot long would hang like streamers, holding on to
: -::rrrS with their hind pincers around the lights at night and catching
-... :hat ivere attracted there. In West Africa you might find a green
, --:,r- ln the house or in Madagascar it might be a mouse lemur.
::uth America I remember visiting an Amerindian village where I
. :rrerrain€d in the chief's large palm-thatched house. During the
- ::.ation I was astonished, on looking up, to see that on several
:. -- : rhat ran across the hut lay draped beauti{Ll multicolored boa
- : :-..tors. I found this sight amazing since in most tropical countries in
. , --lld all snakes, whether poisonous or harmless, are greatly feared. I
:: :he chief how he came to tolerate boa constrictors in his house and
,
-j me he had put them there, having caught them in the forest.
:::ently, the Amerindians find boa constrictors infinitely superior to
-, : :: ndding the house of annoying rodents. So not only did they look
-::1ely decorative, like complicated and beautiful tapestries hanging
Spiderc and their webs
Each species of spider found in or around the
house constructs its ou.'n characteristic type of
web or snare, and each u'eb design is intended
to trap a particular kind of food. Some
spiders hide in a silken tube that has thin
tripwires radiating from it. Whcn a cralling
insect touches a wire the snidcr sensesthe
vibrations and nrshes out io sei:e and kill the
victim u.ith its poison fangs. The orb ri'eb,
spun b1,the garden spider, catchesflying prey.
The spider either \\'aits at the hr,rb of the weh
or hides nearby, behind a leaf or in a crevice.
The sheet web, made by the house spider, is a
flat intenvoven mass of threads that ensnares
unv Jirev. flying or cruu ling.
Triprvirc spidcr wrth raJral rteh
House spider u'ith sheet u'eb
Clarden spider u'ith orb u.eb
27
rI()N4EGROI ]NL)
- : -: treams,but they also put paid to any visiting mice or rats r;l'ho
r-enfured uninvited intcl the house.
- ' :-,r1.'e
-.:.i. and enemies
-: :.re Sorrre household inhabitants which are a help to us because
t:r'.' on the creatures that do destroy our goods or irritate us. These
. :rclude spiders, centipedes and geckos that eat anvthing from
- ::^es to mosquitoes. There are also many innocuous creatures in
..e-innocuous in the sensethat they do not destroy anlthing that
'' - i particularly valuable. The charming musical house cricket, for
- :.= should be encouraged and appreciated as they used to
'-:-.-,i€ them in China. The Chinese used to keep crickets and have
- ,-. ::atches u'ith them.
.
,. prefer not to share your house with other animals, that is your
- .i:rve, for your home is your territory. On the other hand if you
,:',:m-as I do you will find that they wiil make your house
-: irrl. It is fun to watch the habits of a spider, say, in her web in one
,i the room, catching insects and tending her
or the
-voung,
- --: ..-:rticsof the craneflies that come into your house at night, or the
' ' , ,.:-,1butterflies emerging from their pupae on the u'ails outsidc'.
. * . dr'. you must have some sort of control over things that carry
,.::
you or extensively damage your food or clothes.
-rr bite or sting
-:>i approoch, of course, is to try to prevent an invasion. But if
. ,.^readybeen invaded, try "natural" controls, like encouraging the
.. :s of unwelcome house guests-though you may get complair-rts
-. to keep a boa constriclor instead ofa catl
-::rr$
of the walls and roof
'
-::e . it is not just the inside of your house that forms a habitat for
- ::-a lot of them use the outside as well. In Corfu, the geckos
. .:.jer the tiles of the roof and used the walls at night as hunturg
-) tor moths and other insects. Spiders are particuiarly fond of
-, : -.-roundthe outside of the house. The overhanging eavesprovide
:, ., here wasps can build their mud or paper nests or where swallows
.-se martins can found their colonies. L-.lnderthe eaves you may
- - ,: pupae of butterflies and moths, protected from bad u'eather.
"
-. have shutters at the windows which you don't often use. you
-:'rJ
that they have been commandeered as roosts by bats, and in
* :r Bf€?Sthe smooth cliffs of the outside of your house will be
- : :rounds for praying mantises, tree frogs and diumal lizards.
q'oodlice use
-, ir:ick house you will find that earw'igs, spiders and
places,
as well as certain
, -,:ks in mortar as hiding or egglaying
..t mason bees that actually burrow into the mortar between
.
- -.: iil sunny walls to make their egg chambers. Loose and crumbiy
-,: rs searched for food by woodpeckers and sparrows. On old
-: :s s-here there is moss between the bricks or stone you get a host
- -' :iearures such as mites, miliipedes and spiders, and at night snails
- :. --ts parade up and down these miniature forests.
SIGNS OF UNSEEN
GUESTS
Yolr c:ur become a sort of detectir.c
in r'.rrlr ( )\\Trh()mc. ftrr hr' .ceing tht'
r.arious signs that creaturcs leave
hchind )'or.rcan tell rvhich animals
are sharing 1<rtrrhotrse. Some leave
idcntifiahlc droppings, and u'r:ro.ll.onng insccts ti.rnnefing or-rtof
ut>o.l in order to mate ieave
characteristic"exit holcs".
Droppings
1 Houscfll droppingsarc tinv L,lack
lrlrbs lcssthan I
tr acnrss,olien on
'12
otjects hangingfrom thc ceiling.
2 Cirkroach droppingsarc sausage'
shaped,I 1Z in long. with ridges.
I llouse 'mousefecesate cylindrical
rvith pointedends,about 1,5in long.
oficn lc{i on cleansurfaccs.
'l Rat tlropping-.aresimilarttl mtltLsc's,
l in krngrl.rol'n rats leavethcm
thetn abor.tt.
in piles,blackrats,sc:tttcr
:r;ifti$5:
ffi
Exit holes in wood
arc I 8 irr
I L)cathuatch l.eetle l'r<,les
across, roughil' circular, and nearl-v
alu.'al'soccr-rr in damp oakZ Furniture L.eetle("r.voor|vorm") holes
are 1 16 in:rcross, circular.
I House longhom beetlc holes are oval,
al.out 1 15I 1i 10 in, anil may have
frar.ed edges.
4 Ambrosia heetle holes arc similar t<r
those of thc furniture l.eetle btrt lined
u i rh Ji rrk umhro:i rt l rtngrrr.
Footprints
House rnotrse hack footprint is ahout
in long; furrori' is thc tail drag.
Rat back print is about 1j m hrng.
]v{ost bcctles leave turr "tramlurcs".
\p
w
,9
French garden
:.',nsider the outside nm of your habitat, $'here -vou can find
--. :jrnary things to obserwewhether you have a feu'flou'erpots or are
/9
HO\lE C]ROL'ND
A miniature watering hole
Creatures in hot places will appreciate a
suppl-v of fresh water. I{1'ou have a backyard
f'aucet ltru can attract many insects on hot
J ar s hr' l c a v i n qr t J r i p p i n g o r tu m ir g it o n r t
rqtrlar inten'als to make a fresh clear pool.
The tar,rcetLrnmv patio drau's visits bv
: rr. ql Lrl l ' r r n r r l l i c r : r r . ' h r : .\\ i) llL) \rlr ilr . lt
ri ell as r arious n'pes of u'asp.
lucky enough to have a large garden. The rype of garden that I really like
best is one that is ailowed to run wild, like my garden in the South of
France. I suppose I should not really dignify it with that name since what
it actually consists of is about 25 acres of wildemess: hillsides covered
with aromatic herbs, such as rosemary and thyme, small forests of
juniper, evergreen oak and umbrella pines and fig, olive, blue plum and
walnut trees that have run wild.
It is only in the vicinity of the house that we make any attempr ro
"control" nature and this is very mild. It consists for the most part of
training the old man's beard or mile-a-minute creeper over the bamboocovered patio, planting a few vegetables for ourselves and rose bushes,
buddleia and lavender to attract the insects and making sure that in the
hot weather the faucet is always dripping on rhe stone-flagged patio,
forming a cool oasis where the small wasps and the butterflies and beetles
of the dry garrigte can come to drink. As the pool made by the faucet is
just outside our living room door, we have to take care that we don't
tread on a wasp and get stung as we come out of the house. I covered the
patio with bamboo for I know that these hollow tubes form admirable
hiding places for numerous insects, especially for the huge electric-blue
carpenter bees, one of the biglest and stupidest but most colorful of the
wild bees. All day long you can hear them scraping and scrabbling and
humming to themselves as they build their nests inside the long lengths of
hollow sun-baked bamboo.
Surrounding the garden are dry srone walls which make wonderful
homes for many things. Slender brown wall lizards slither like quicksilver
over the stones, huge eyed lizards, green as dragons, bask on top of the
walls and in amongst the stones there live scorpions, natterjack toads,
garden dormice and Montpellier snakes.
Everything that moves in r,r'emake welcome, whether it is a plant or an
animal. To me, it is an ideal garden for a variefy of reasons. Take
butterflies, for example, who, although they may feed off our lavender,
will need another food plant for their larvae to live on. The lovely
graceful swallowtail butterflies come and drink from our lavender,
pirouetting in circles, dancing their mating dance, but when they are
ready to lay eggs they drift like giant snow{lakes down the valley and
deposit their eggson the feathery wild fennel that grows there. The eggs
hatch out and the larvae are minute hairy black dots, but as they feed and
grow they shed their skins and end up as great fat green caterpillars with
Sq rlloutrrl
Yellori'jackct
,h
I
h'\,
ru
Potter u'asp
Two-tailed pasha
-f
#r
I
:J
HOME GROUND
-:. stripes. So I can follow the whole life history of the swallowtail
' :. a hundred yards of my house. Oddly enough, in Britain this
.:ir (which is confrred to the Norfolk Broads of Eastem England)
- :-.Jk parsley as its caterpillar food plant.
*=:e. sitting on the patio, I can watch the praying mantis stalk
::lies or moths or spiders in the creepers above me. I can watch
: :''-.g \vasps searching in the walls for spiders or see the strange
,, .-ated snails (with their elongated shells which look as though their
- :-.:.\-ebeen snipped off with scissors) who live among the irises that
:round the bases of the almond trees. At twilight the longhom
.: -:: tlf ing past look like witches on broomsticks. On the hillsides
- : and below the house I can go and lift up great slabs of rock, each
- - ssed with yellow seals of lichen, and beneath them I might find the
- ,-::.rm)'-white Spanish scorpions or a tarantula, while on top of the
. . :here are the papery egg casesof the praying mantis, looking like
: :::eJ haystacks. Among the miniature jungle of herbs, richly
' :'-::ic as you crush them underfoot, are dozens of different grasv
::,::S ?nd fragile moths and hundreds of microscopic creatures. To
: , iarden like this is perfect. You can have your flowers and share
:r- \'ou can have your vegetables and share them and then you have
: ''.rld hiilsides which you share with whatever lives there. You feel
- : nature and not divorced from it and vet. ten minutes down the
- ..:s the large bustling city of Nimes.
At home in the grass
The common green grasshopper is found
in all grassland habitats, including that
patch of rough grass at the bottom of the
garden. \il,hen disturbed it leaps por'"'erfully into thc air and flies a short distance
to safety. Grasshoppers can be distin,juisheJ frrrm crickets hy thcir irntennue.
The former has short thick antennae.
whereas a cricket possessesthin slender
antennae u,hich may be much krnger than
its bodl
!
iir
:.oring a vacant lot
::::L)\\Tr patches of green quickly filI ,,rp vacant areas in our cities.
:. S€rveas miniature nature reserves, rich in interest. Towering over
, --rde of herbs the ailanthus or tree-of-heaven quickly gains ascen-'.. The long leaves of this exotic yet common tree provide fodder
' -: caterpillars of the c1'nthia, a large and handsome silkworm moth.
- :r trash heaps yield rewards. I can remember many years ago when
: .,red a vacant lot in New York City and, much to my amazement,I
- - .:tl at least a dozen small brown snakes which I later identified as
: . ,', SSr?ke, an eighteen-inch reptile that thrives in the security of small
,.:t-i of urban waste.
-::rr spring to fall there is always something to catch the eye,
' r:.:l.l\- the many kinds of insects that abound. By late June the "cold"
- :. -,t iireflies dot the common ground. The complex sigrralsthese soft,
t'eetles give off serve principally to attract partners. Some species
-i
,ivantage of this light semaphore to gain a meal. By pretending to be
-., r' receptive and flashing the correct sigrral they deceive-for
--,.j of mating, they devour the first firefly that lands near them. To
: .'. es insects are particularly savage-watch any robber fly dive and
-* , smaller insect which it bears away in a stranglehold grip between its
- ,egs to be eaten from the firm footing of a wall or railing. Praying
' : js often wander around our cities snatching whatever they can,
- :.: large numbers of grasshoppers and katydids in late summer.
- = :lower garden
flower garden can attract a great number of nectar feeders,
-.'-planted
::.: from beesand bee-like banded hover and beeflies, to beetles, day- :-.uht-flying moths, butterflies and even beautiful multicolored
ll
HO\IE GROI]N[)
ROSEJUNGLE
Garden roses sLrpport a wealth of
animal life, ranging from the sapsucking aphids to the aphid-hunting
birds. The old-fashioned types of
r()se are the best, for they have ricir
scents and plentiful nectar to aftract
many different animais.
Nectar feeders
The rose makessu'eetnectarasbaif to
lure ursccts.As thel' drink the nectarthe
insectscollect a dr.rstingof pollen *'hich
thev transferto other rose flor.verson
ization.
their travels,insuringcross-fertil
Sphinx moth
Aphids and their predators
The aphid (greenfl1) pierces the rose
stem r"'ith its needle-like proboscis to
suck the sap. Aphids breed at a
phenomenal ratei ()ne female can
produce 50 offspring in a few days. Such
rapicl breeding is essential because aphids
ale virruall1. defensclcss.
Chickadee
l-acen ing lan'a
glittering hummingbirds. Most of the nectar-feeding insects not only u--:
the.flowers in the garden as a rich food source but help, by their activirrc,
to pollinate the plants.
Rose bushes are veritable treasure troves of insect life. Here you c;-find the ubiquitous sap-sucking aphids. Ants love them for their "milk
and actualiy herd them and build "bams" of tiny sand grains to prote-them. Aphids also are a source of food and disguise for the larvae of ti.
Iacewing fly. This delicate insect with fragile transparent wings and hui.
golden eyes lays its eggson long stalks among the rose leaves. When ti-..
larvae hatch out, one of their chief forms of food is the aphids. They suc.
them dry and then toss the drained shells onto their backs where th.'
become entangled in their bristies. A sufficient number of aphid shel,
attached to the larva forms a very effective camouflage. Ladybugs, u'halways look to me like newiy-painted clock'*,ork toys, also feed on th.
aphids as do their larvae. Butterflies, beetles and hoverflies drink ros.
nectar and the larvae of the latter feed on the aphids. The leaf-cutter bee:
slice out semicircular pieces of the rose leaf to construct cells for the::
young. Sometimes, you will perhaps be lucky enough to find th.
extraordinary thom-mimic treehopper, a bug which has the top part of it-.
thorax protruded in a curved spine so that among the rose thoms it -.
very difficult to detect. The great haul of aphids on a rose bush ofter
attracts the birds, and I have seen various titmice, kinglets and evernightingales feeding on this rich bounty.
Sunflowers are a rich larder for a lot of creatures. I remember a:.
actress friend of mine, who has a farm not far from me in a valley r
Provence, once planting a huge field of sunflowers. She planted them nc:
as a crop but because she was making a film on the famous painter var.
Gogh, and she needed the flowers as a backdrop to some of the scenes.I:
was astonishing what different species that one field of sunflower.
attracted to her little valley. Titmice and other birds clung to the golderflowers, feeding on the insects that the giant sunflower heads attractei
Some of these heads, bigger than a soup plate, were so hear.rythat ther
drooped over and each one contained dozens of kinds of insects amons
its petals. Then when the flo'ul'ersdied and each "soup plate" became a
seed head, there was an influx of other creatures. Rats, mice, dormice anc
squirrels shinnied up the tall stems and stole the milky seeds, and ther
were followed by a large herd of shag4y wild boar who, with mucl:
squealing and gmnting, trampled the field of sunflowers flat and r,r,'itl^
much chomping and clatterrrg of tusks ate up the remains of the see;
heads. The stalks of the sunflowers lay and rotted gently into the soLl.
forming food for worms and a myriad of microscopic creatures.
Naturally, the wealth of life in flower gardens attracts predators. Ir.
warrner climates, praying mantises stalk through the flowers on the
lookout for succulent butterflies, and crab spiders, who can change their
colors to match the petals, crouch in the flowers themselves. Other
spiders sling their u,ebs between the flowers, and the ichneumon wasps
seek out the plump caterpillars on which to lay their eggsso that, when
they hatch, the caterpillars form living larders for the young ichneumons.
One of the fiercest predators is the yellow jacket'. It stings its prev
(caterpillars, flies, spiders) and then flies off with the quarry to its nest.
Here the victim is used as food for the grubs. It is astonishing to seewhat
incredible weights these insects can carry sometimes prey much bigger
i2
I
fl
than themselr'es. \\/atching one struggle into the air with a horsefly, fo:
instance,is like u'atching the lumbering take-off of a jumbo jet.
The hunting hynnenopterans
\\'asps use their stings to paral-v:cor suh.ltte
their pre1. If the victim rs too large to bttakcn back to the u'asp's nest (and a \\':lsp call
.irlTv mnre than its ou'n ri'eight in flight) the
\\'asp Ina\ cut it up and fer-r1'l.acktl'rc pieces
()ne at il time.
The vegetable garden
A vegetable garden can provide the naturalist u'ith some fascinatin:
creatures. Apart from the butterflies and moths that lay their eggs or.
such things as cabbagesand calTots, there are the leaf and flea beetles anc
in Europe and North America the dreaded Colorado beetie on potatc
leaves. On potatoes, too, in Europe )'ou might find the larvae of th.
death's'headsphinx moth, one of the most spectacularofthesphinx moths.
Many creatures, of collrse, live underground, feeding on the roots o:
the plants the strange subten:anean keeled sh.rgs,for example, and som.
of the millipedes. There are the larvae of those strange insects, the click
beetles, so called because of the noise they make u'hen they prope.
themselvesin leaps into the air. They do this to escapeenemies and alsc
to right themselves if thev land on their backs. (Pr-rtone in the palm o:
your hand on its back and u,atch the extraordinary performance.) Th.
LIFE IN THE VEGETABLE GARDEN
Even the most stalwart gardener ri'ill
find to his annoyance that hc is
forceci to share his vegctables u'ith
the creaturcsthat inhabit his garden.
Some, like certain caterpillars and
slugs,arc herbi','orous and feerl on
thernsclves.()thcr,.
thc r ccetaL.lc,s
>r:ahiti .pi.lcrs an.l centife.les arc
--::r-.r'.r-.r-ri::]rcr :re h.'1i'11]1,.111.
r :----:i -u '
-,:-.:--.::
.crl l
- 1,' r r l- r
( rL.h.rgehrrrtcrtlr
q.:,
, t:;{F
Above-ground dwellers
(lrcat concr-ntrations of leafi
xrd mean large poptrlatiotts
of catcrpillars
l.eetlcs.
l'+
(loLrra.Lr l.eetlc
fhe
ClrounJ beetle
Ground
dwellers
These arc ground beetlesan.i spidels
that hunt smaller creatr.trcs.Another
ground dr.r'eller is the garclen sl,-Lg,ri'hich
leavesits hideau-av to feed on plants
s'hc'never conditions ate cclol an.l
damp usualh at night or after rain.
ranching fungrrs
Yeast
tr
WA
Burrou'ing centipc.le
Leathcrlackct
mqmF
Btrcteria
Microscopic soil life
Invisible organisms in thc soil bacteria
anJ f rrn g i a r e ( ) f \ i l r l i r n p .r n u n .c ilt
breaking dou-n ("dccomposing") plant
and animal remains.
undergrounddweners
\
\\'ircuorm
ffi
%
Nlrmcrous creatLlresspen.l all or paft of
thci r l i r c. unJcrl -r()l u)J. I hc l c:rth.rand the wircl'orm live in the soil
and pr.rpateinto thc craneflv ancl click
l.eetle respectivclr'.
t+
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HOME GROUND
:'. a complex mechanism which lies between the thorax
r.rs such a springJike quahty that the beetle can shoot
'.
hand. Then there are the eelworms. nematode
-.r-rr
:rat
runnel
into the potato roots. On carrots you may
--::
::- :.: and rr celery beds the larvae of the celery fly.
Phantoms of the grass
The ghost sw,ift, sometimes called the ghost
moth, is aptly named. The white males can be
seen at dusk in June or July, hovedng and
su'nging from side to side in the air like tiny
ghosts above patches of grass. They do this
t() aftract females u'hich is unusual in the
moth n'orld, since it is generally the males
rvho seek out the female bv scent.
,:'. --: iauri or any stretch of grass. Lawns are really rather
:: r :'. -.u could ro11them back you would see a fascinating
:.= n and under them. On the lawn itseli there may be
=:l vrolets and patches of dandelions and here and
:-.:i
-' .. -:::-shrooms that sprout up ovemight. Don't forget that
':-.i :ar.e their own special inhabitants, certain species of
-*. -. :,..:. \'ou can find tiny leafhoppers feeding on the blades
.:.: -.-.:sergrasshoppers that whirr from under your feet as
l::rroi on the roots of the grasscrop you will find the so:). rhe lan'al form of the cranefly who, when they
- - - : : lupae, dance over the lawns in the evening in mating
- :'.:.:1s\-ou can see the mounds covering the entrance to
. : .r-.. - mor-rntainsof pepper. Their size belies the extensive
-,- : . r:li mn beneath the soil. and vou can seethe ants'well'
, . : - : ::h rhe grassstems along which they go foraging.
* - :r: :'rundant in the soil of lawns. They tunnel near the
' i.
ieal grassesand other organic matter as they go. You
- .,:-r the lar',.n's surface. All plants benefit from these
:-rs aerate the soi-l and provide drainage with their
, -- :-. :rerr deeper burrows they bring up minerals which
-::
:-.' :he rainvu,atertoo deep for the plants' roots to reach.
-' : : --r--rCeof an old lawn you may find stones which have
'- : -i-: :a:trcles of soil tilled by the worm. Fertile soil is due
"-: :--r--rrr of earthworms-Charles Darwin said that he
' :1-:r jjrv other animal has played such an important part in
- '.'. - :ns really could be said to be the first gardeners.
: - -- . ::r&11ghostJike moths dance above the lawn attracting
,- : -. rhe spring fruit chafers hatch out and go buzztrrg
: -r-: -rke demented airplanes. Birds love lawns since the
- -. ::-.r.iCe them with an ideal terrain for spottrng food. On
- .,.'i1 see robins hopping, running, then stopping with
..:.: tor u..orrns.Aggressive blue jays will periodically fly
-,: :.::cLtion as do both catbirds and mockinsbirds.
- -.. :=:l on the fruits in the orchard. You may locate the
:.nt caterpillars on twigs of apple, pear and cherry, or
-*'
u'hose larvae eat apples and then pupate in tiny cracks
'..:
'
::e tree. Fruit bushes are favored by inchworms or
--.:. u'hich, when not looping along cr sticking out like
' ,:: ,-,-q'n from foliage by almost invisible silk threads.
- : ,.
the fruit ripens and falls and splits and starts to
' -: -: -n
: t-eastfor yellow jackets, bees and flies. On hot days
i)
i ,--;
I
(f
L{ .
-
a
\
-
*r'
-: ilt::"
H()\,IE CIRC)LrNl)
buterflies cluster round to sip the sugary watef supply. In Greece and in
England I have $'atched hedgehogs getting drunk on apples and grapes
anJ then they stagger about, screaming abuse at each other, fighting'
bumping into things and generally behaving in the r'ulgar way that most
h.,man J.t,nk. behave. In an apple or pear or cherry orchard, deer mice
and jumping mice become active at night' attracted by both the fallen
fruit and attendant insects. The rodents in tum are preyed upon by both
weaselsand foxes. The flowenng of the apple, cherry and pear blossoms
attracts a great many birds-phoebes and kingbirds eagerly snap up the
g.eat .rariJty of insects drawn by the sweet fragrance of the clouds of
it".ly biooms. The cedar waxwing (more noted as a berry eater) will
in"uie orchards at this time to snip off blossoms which are passed from
one bird to the next do$Tr a lrre. In North Carolina I have seen box
tortoises lumbering about among the strawberry beds, gorging themselves on the fruit (to ih. farmer's fury), and in Greece I have seen foxes
feeding greediiy off the grapes of lowgrowing vines.
Creating a wild garden
By letting part or all of your garden run wild and by careful plantpg Yott
can clo ut-iot to bring wildlife to you. Remember that each garden is a
miniature nature reserye and you should try to manage it like that'
*-orkir1g out desirable food, hiding places and nesting sites for all the
The compost pile
ComposfpileJare excellent homes for lan'ae
of flies and beetles and for adult insccts as
s el l . ( ) n c . ' l t h e m a i n sftr a r lio n s ( ' l ( ' r) m lt r - t
is the abunJant iood supplv ur the iorm ot
leal zu'iJJe.-avingvegetati()n'andi'ther
.r:n-ral inhat-ttant-r.The \\'armth generatedb\
n l i l l a r l l l Le li,' r ' ' r h e in ie a ti tr ) 9 o
: r:r.:;i:rl
::-:.'il.:l
:'-lt-.a :ilili
iir,jl-lrr
-:--r'l: -::( a\a c iil ;l
,.:..lel. .lr.i in :{ rlIl( a.ifes
ter l-rceJ thro,:q]'r tht
ninter month..
Bloufly lana
animals that You can attract.
A good compost pile not only benefits you and your-gardening
activitls but it is ihe home and larder for scores of different
inveftebrates-worms, snails, slugs, woodlice, earwigs, fly larvae and so
on. If vou $'ant to attract the nectar feeders, try not to plant the modem
qpe of bloom u'hich is bred to be big, blowsy and b1ash, but.has no
..".,t. Try and get the more old-fashioned getrden flowers., like oldfashioned ror.. *hi.h have rich scent and nectaf. Blooms with trumpet'
shaped flowers, like petunias, for example, are greatly loved b;' sphirut
moths. and if vour iocation is favorable try growing hibiscus and tmmpet
creepers which wiLl attract hummingbirds. Night'flyinq moths love
flowers like nicotiana, evening primrose and night-scented stock. In the
daltime, lavender and buddleia attract many butterflies, as do the later
flowering ice plant and aster.
Choose your assortment of plants so that there is something flowenng
from spring through to late auturnn' and remember to grow some wild
tool since if yon want to keep your butterflies and moths in the
flo*...
garden you not onll' ftnrr. to feed them but you ha;re to provide them
i"i n,n" natural food plants for the larvae when they hatch. You will find
the adult moths and butterflies will feed on the flowers and the larvae will
feed on the leaves. For example, the eastem black swallowtail will eagerlv
come to the flowers of wild phlo" atrd milkweed but its gfeen and black
caterpillar has different tastei, for it only feeds on the leaves of plants ot
the carrot family including parsley, celery and the wild Queen Anne's
lace. If some of y,r,-,. ,r.g.tub1es are infested with these lawae, it is worth
sacrificing a few plants to obsewe this attractive bufferfly's life cycle.
Another sturLning swallou'tail, the pipevine, prefers to lay its eggs on the
omamentai vine knoro.n as Dutchman's pipe, an unmistakable creeper
with dinner-plate-sized ieaves.Vines and creepers are an extfemely useful
addition to any garden or yard. They simply need pruning back from
36
1-
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HOME GROUND
FOOD FOR BIRDS
AND OTHERS
Birds like kitchen scraps,suitable
left-overs(thet would not apprecrate
a curry but would appreciate boiied
rice), cheese,cake and bread. Two
kinds of seed-white proso millet
and small black sunflower seeds(oilseed) are especially attractive. The
millet is gobbled up by song sParrows, juncoes, mouming doves and
cowbirds. Oilseed is taken bY cardinals, grackles and grosbeaks. Remember to Put out extra food (and
\\'ater) in cold weather and to feed at
rezular times.
hung u'ith titbits
Nesting sites
Two kinds of nest box are shoq'rr belolr''.
An entrance hole of llr-in diameter will
aftract wrens, titmice and nuthatches. A
slightly larger hole of lj in is ideal for
bluebirds, tree swallows or even small
woodpeckers. Holes larger than this \\'ill
affract less welcome starlings. The openfronted k.lx piaced against the side of a
building (G15 ft above ground) will in
time be occupied by robins and
phoebes.
Hole-fiont
nest box
time to time; otherwise they tend to grow rampant and smother oth.'
plants. An interesting-looking moth, the eigfrt-spotted forester, lays
eggson wild vines and virginia creeper. The eight spots (four yellow r four white)look like dabs of light paint on a rich black velvet backgrour"The most important thing is not to be too fastidious, and let at leas: comer of your garden build up into a wildlife oasis. Apart from color:*
moths and butterflies the wild vegetation will give refuge for toads, sm'snakes, ground nesting birds, mice, shrews and chipmunks.
Trees and bushes for the birds
Flowers are all very well to attract insects for part of the year but you a-.
need a framework of trees and bushes to attract birds. The key to succtin making your garden attractive for both yourself and wildlife is to p1;
l
li
a good mixfure of evergreen and deciduous fypes. In the first catego:
the shapely red cedar is a good example of a tree with many uses. I ha :
seen parties of cedar waxwings and grosbeaks gorging themselves on :: small dark berries available from September through to May. Chipp:sparrows, robins and mockingbirds are just three of many specieswhr:'
readily nest in the thickly matted branches, while juncoes and warbi.
use the cedar's densecover as secureroosting sites.
By selective planting you can provide a natural food supply of food -- birds throughout the year. The juicy sweet fruits of the service t:(shadbush) ripen in early summer just when nesting bitds need an ad;=booster of food for their young. late summer berry laden bushes
snowberqr, coralberry, elderberry and flowering dogwood all yield gc crops, while the fruits of Russian olive and vibumum last well into :--,
cooler months. Also remember that vines like bittersweet, wild grape a- virginia creeper are useful for both cover and food. Although hon=
suckle is best known for its scented flowers, the Amur and Tartar,-varieties are recommended for their bumper crop of berries.
'With
so many plants to choose ftom, it is easy to get overenthusias:
'When
this happ..
and cram too many trees and bushes into one area.
you end up spending a lot of unnecessary time pruning and sawing
branches to allow the plants to breathe and grow naturally. Imagine vc wildlife garden in a few years' time when the plants have knitted togetb.:'
and you can sit back at a distance and reap the rewards of your labor.
Attracting wildlife
So far, I have only mentioned natural attractions for wildlife in )'i
garden-you can of course add all sorts of other things. You can m;, '
feeders and special nesting places for anlthing from earwigs to o\' .
With very little trouble you can build a garden pond and, apart from :',
joy of watching the birds bathing, you can expect to see a whole n.
spectrum of animal life develop, quite different from that of a tlT::back garden. You may also add to it by putting dragonfly lawae or ne\:-.
or sticklebacks in it. My sister has a small pond some six feet by nin her garden and she introduced some frog spawn into it. This hatch-.out and, naturally, the tiny frogs thought this was their real home, a- "
they have stayed in the garden ever since.
It is amazing how nature responds if you try to help it. Even in a gr.city, in a landscape of bricks and mortar, a handful of soil and a f.
plants can grow into a habitat for the creatures in this alien terrain.
l8
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HOME C]RC)T-IND
SIMPLE GARDEN EXPERIMENTS
: '.,r'ilent place in
.:',chabits anrl
,- ,::lll anrmals,
-:- . jl'citt number
-. .:rter all, I'ou are
. : .:. \'ou can
: r\ en mlnute,:. :--..anJ chcck
.. .hrtlrld clrr,aJ.s
::':ll. \'()LlSet,and
. ,u tlnisl-r vour
_I : :lf()lects
.-,...,ttrst starting
-.: ifr LO on ffom
. ::. ,rt fascinating
.
.,.11.
-r |IaF\
.,.' toeltch
: i:ttii]: aan l-r
: ., :.irrli lrrgc: -: ^ :n .leep.
: t: \!r that its r inl
'
-t. Place a piece
: - ,,,:i sta)ner s()
. .,: rncfi alrove
-: r- .: .Lr r taCt. . l:-,Itr tilc iar ancl
- -:J.iIL:e ( ) t the
' -''lllc L'rinciple bV
' ::-.c lrath), and rhc
:-.-i :r-.:atures fitr a
-: :-r't.latols such as
. r .,r' .r u5 l.ir ds.
,1,
T' '',',i.j,
, :.1,,,i
What attracts bees to flowersl
In the sumrncr u'hen l.ccs. $-aspsanJ
othL.r insccts are vi-sitingflou'ers fcrr nectar
ancl pollen, \'()u ciln lcarn uhat attracts
thcm to the bLoorns.ls it scent or colrrl
()btain some glirssor plastic iilters tr.orr-ra
photogrtrphic sr-rpplierthat flltcr ()Llr5()me
colrls of the spcctnlnt l.r-rtiet others Fass
through. Re slrrc to gct a clcar onc and ol)e
that lets through trltraviolct light l.ur
ltothing elsc. Set uli \'()Llrexlrerimentai
tahle ncar a flo* er l.eJ active u ith insects.
Flatten variotrs 1']oue'rshcnr.eeltshects of
r.r'hitepaper belou'antl variou_sfiltcrs on
tLrp,ancl scc \\'hit-h insccts arc attracted to
lr,hich parts of thc spectrum. Thcv n.rll
probablv he attracted ro f:lou'ersinJer tht
clear filtcr anLlals()to those unJcr tl-rt
ultraviolet ()ne, cven though to us the
rrltrar iolet frltcr cuts or.rtrhe ilo\r,er's
cokrrs. This is a cluc to the firct that
rnan\, insects can see trltraviolet rat's and
rtsCthqol rs I gtrrJr ti l ri hi r'h fl ou crs to
visit. Those insccts u.ho do not visit the
table at all probablv use scenr as a
guide thcy'cannot "smell" thc flowers
under the filters.
Some creaturcs
caught in
Marking small creatures
crpcri mcnts rcqui rc v,,u t() mJrk
.- \[rnr
thc_l rl ri tnl rli sl l xrmc rrar'. Thc tt.tul
/,/
nrcthoJ fbr -sn-rallthurgs is simpl_v to pni11
/'
()n a tinv JaF oirlrrick-ln'ing tl.pist's
correding flLrid (right). Place the- paint
'-SprinEail some',r'here ilrconspicuous (so as
n()t t()
attracr predators) ancl on a hard flat part
of thc L.tilr'. \'en' actir.e.animals cari bc
slou'e.j dourr firr marking hv an hour in
thc rcfri grrrror ( 'r u l cu sct onJs i n an
irnestheti:ingjar.
p ir f;r lltr a p .
\
: : a , r L l t r ap s
'' - :- ,rlle
FaIt oi the
: . ..r,,. (lheck thenr
- : :--::l.lar',ancl rn the
- .i i',cn are tl're
- : . - l , L r cs th e ir
: , : : r r r c( ) n d itio n sJ
- - , ' r Je n
- ::'i l.l\\'n, f'l()\\'cr
: -: :ict.lble garLlen.
: -: :rilmi.ers of
. -t :'sreDt aleas,
' ..: :-retlesantl itther
- - : : ' i ! ) t p a ln t ( se e
r
'
-i
t:llnt
t|here
\Ori
:ci trapperl again,
' '-lr rrairl This
: r:' the creatures stick
- :l-,clrt,chccse <tl
:' .ar.h lliffcrent
Snail habits
Snails tend ro hc creatures of habit. -I-l-rev
,'ftcn hi l r.i r "Frrrs1' r,,ri hi eh l h(.\ rctun)
rhcl thr ni ,.:hr'rfcqJrl rSrrurcl s. & Lr
br()kcn floq'crpots in dirmp arcas of the
garden (right). Afier a fer.r'da1's son-resnails
rr i l l pr,'h;rl -l r hc tr.i rrgthc pt'ti rs Jrrl ti mr.
.h.l tcr'. \l ark rhenr rr i th Jrhs,rt pri nr
(tn'not to disturb them too much); then
check trrur shclter-.cach day. I)o the
marked aninrais come backl What
happcns if votr rnovc thc pot at night
u'hrle it is e'mpt\', or put several ()ther
flou'e4rgts nearbr'l
_4,:_lp|c7-.-.:=r
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THE NATURALIST ON
HOMEGROUND
-:
^ \\'as young, one of the villas we lived in on Corfu was an old
:,rilr
in Venetian style. It looked rather like one of those Victorian
-.
- - rLrses square, with big windows and shufters. Inside there were
- -..' - .:nics,two of which were dark and two of which had skylights so
::e quite bright and sunny. The big high-ceilinged rooms had
-:: :loors supported on enormous beams. In summer, when it was
- . :. r'ou could hear the beams cracking like miniature muskets
as
. : ilarrner and warmer, and in winter they groaned and creaked as
-rj'-.' Jamp winds swayed the house. The whole buildine had vast
-, :=nearh it. Naturally all this provided an ideal habitar, ntt just for
' ,,-.-.,' and myself, but for a multitude of other creatures
as well.
-:r.:\ €r I approached this villa, whether in the dapime or at night
, - .. ',r-rndows were ablaze with the glow of our oil lights, I used to
- -,: rr reail;'{l'as an old-fashioned doll's house, so that I could
open
-- : 'rr nvo panels and thus see everything inside from top to
ceilar
. - ::e animal inhabitants.
:'- .rdcs to cellars
-': :.rk attics were all sorts of wood-boring beetles, including the
- .,:h beetle which you could hear ticking in the beams a sound
it
-. -:: bv beating its thorax against the wood to call a mate. This rs
:': .^- tats lived, too, and on the floor there was a colony of swifts,
" :'.-s shuffling abour, squeaking and calling, while the parent birds
,: -urd and around the house in a shrieking merrv-go-round,
:ood for their young. In the anics with skylights there lived the
-,- a strange centipede with an amazing web of legs around its
.: '.r'as fascinating to \.vatch it stalking the odd moth or fly that
'- :) \\-a)' up there, for it moved with incredible
speed when it
:: seeming to glide over the rafters like a stone thrown onto ice.
-: :.:ie also scorpions up in these attics and, in summer, ticks. fleas
*
Tr-.
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-^
- - : . ^- ^, ::rs.
In -winter,
prowled
earwigs
the beams.
: irmetimes had invasions of ticks in the bedrooms and hving
- . j.rqnstairs
to my mother's horror. These could be very
"
..i. b'ut I found them helpful since they provided me with
':: -i-j microscopic material. In the bedrooms there were also clothes
.- . irl srlverfish and,
of course, mosquitoes invaded the rooms at
-. - : :eel on us. The spiders, in consequence, found it good to set up
- , ::b€d homes there for they could eat the mosquitoes and the
--': :r-:.trwere attfacted to our lights. our living room and dining
., hich had French windows opening on to the garden, were
,-:: .\'butterflies and moths in the summer, and in the autumn
' : ::c.ies, like tortoiseshells and peacocks, would come
in to
: -:r:
\{ore spiders followed them in and the geckos used to come in
Tick preparcs to feecl
House centipeJe pursucs a small moth
Su,ift incrrlutes eggs
Uninvited guest
()ne mammal that has leamed the benefits of
living ncar people is thc'house mouse
(rpposite). It will make use of a variety of
n-rate'rialsleft around b1. humans, such as
paper, u'hich it shreds to make its nest. and a
r,,.iderangc of fcrods.
),5