Got a useful reply from the Buzz Club, who encourage hoverfly and other insect research .
Yertiz:
Glad you found our hoverfly project useful! They're fantastic little creatures, and it's so simple to provide them some habitat - especially on allotments, as you say, there's lots to use. Other Lagoons volunteers have also found that if you are growing comfrey to make comfrey plant food, hoverflies love that as well; so if you have an open bucket of that, it will get a lot of hoverfly interest pretty quickly.
For the more predatory end of the allotment inhabitants, some other useful tips:
- bolted veg (especially brassicas) from last year are great; the little yellow flowers are very popular with parasitoid wasps that go after pollen beetles and aphids, and are very accessible to small bees. Also provides a place for early aphids to hang out - which is a food source for ladybirds, making sure those populations are higher when you need them later.
- adding in shallow-rooted annual flowers amongst taller plants in rows (like raspberries) provides pollen / nectar for insects, while not rooting too deeply or competing for many nutrients.
- keep an eye out for larvae of the 'syrphid' hoverflies. These don't live in water, but maraud around on plants eating aphids, and are easy to miss until you get your eye in. Some examples below:
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Best wishes,
Linda & the Buzz Club team
Twitter: @The_Buzz_Club
Facebook: goo.gl/vBbE3h
Wildlife Gardening & Science | The Buzz Club | United Kingdom
