Hunter and hunted

It's a jungle out there. The drama of life and death is happening in our garden every day, with some of its residents hunting down and eating others. This particular drama was taking place on one of the gnarled old branches of an apple tree. The white "fuzzy stuff" is a pile of Wooly Apple Aphids (Eriosoma lanigerum), a bothersome little pest that sucks the juice (and the life) out of apple trees across the world. It's actually native to North America, but was accidentally introduced to Great Britain back in the late 1700s. Equally unfortuitous introductions have been made to virtually every other apple-producing region of the world, and this little insect is proving to be a serious problem for apple growers. Fortunately for us, help is at hand. Ladybirds, including the Pine Ladybird (Exochomus quadripustulatus) lurking in their vicinity in the photo above, are aphid specialists. Many ladybird species eat literally thousands of adult aphids during their relatively short lives — and that's after they've eaten hundreds more as larvae.

Pine Ladybirds are widespread in southern and central England, and more local north and west. We've seen a lot of them around lately, particularly on the apple tree, where they appear to have found the buffet table. Generally, adults overwinter in the foliage of evergreen trees and shrubs (hence their common name), but during the rest of the year, they're found on a variety of trees. Here's hoping they like what's on the menu and stay awhile!