Back Garden Biology

Did you know that just five groups of insects dominate your garden? And can you tell the difference between bugs and beetles? In this week's episode, meet the Bug Five and learn how to tell them apart, with beautiful drawings by Lindsay's former student, Pandora Dewan, and lots of new video clips. You are encouraged to select your own Bug Five, by choosing your favourite representative of each of the five groups and you can decide whether Linday's Bug Five are better or worse than those selected by entomologist Liam Crowley. Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales; http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/

In this episode we take a look at the strange life-cycle of ferns and find out why they are so dependent on water. Nearly all familiar plants produce seeds, but the first plants to colonise the land did not. Ferns belong to an ancient group and continue to be successful, but they don't produce seeds and tend to be restricted to damp, shady places. We take a look at the strange life-cycle of ferns and find out why they are so dependent on water. We also take a look at germinating seeds and discover why it's so hard to tell young seedlings apart.

In this episode we take a look at the strange life-cycle of ferns and find out why they are so dependent on water. Nearly all familiar plants produce seeds, but the first plants to colonise the land did not. Ferns belong to an ancient group and continue to be successful, but they don't produce seeds and tend to be restricted to damp, shady places. We take a look at the strange life-cycle of ferns and find out why they are so dependent on water. We also take a look at germinating seeds and discover why it's so hard to tell young seedlings apart. Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales; http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/

In this episode we look closely at Garlic mustard or Jack-by-the-hedge, a very common plant throughout the UK. Garlic mustard or Jack-by-the-hedge is a very common plant throughout the UK. Confined to hedgerows, it's a familiar sight in April and May with its tiny white flowers and most of us probably pay it rather little attention. But in America, where it was brought by settlers, it is regarded as a serious pest. We examine the insects that are found on garlic mustard and find out why plants sometimes 'go bad'.

In this episode we look closely at Garlic mustard or Jack-by-the-hedge, a very common plant throughout the UK. Garlic mustard or Jack-by-the-hedge is a very common plant throughout the UK. Confined to hedgerows, it's a familiar sight in April and May with its tiny white flowers and most of us probably pay it rather little attention. But in America, where it was brought by settlers, it is regarded as a serious pest. We examine the insects that are found on garlic mustard and find out why plants sometimes 'go bad'. Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales; http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/

Back Garden Biology takes a closer look at the insects in the garden including the solitary bee. Solitary bees don't live in colonies and don't have a worker caste. Instead, the females must do the hard work themselves and rear their own offspring. Mining bees often dig holes in lawns and excavate burrows in which to deposit balls of pollen on which their larvae will feed. Mason bees and leaf-cutter bees do much the same, but use holes in walls, or bee hotels, provided by friendly gardeners. But, there are plenty of other insects happy to take advantage of their activities - many of them carefully disguised.

Back Garden Biology takes a closer look at the insects in the garden including the solitary bee. Solitary bees don't live in colonies and don't have a worker caste. Instead, the females must do the hard work themselves and rear their own offspring. Mining bees often dig holes in lawns and excavate burrows in which to deposit balls of pollen on which their larvae will feed. Mason bees and leaf-cutter bees do much the same, but use holes in walls, or bee hotels, provided by friendly gardeners. But, there are plenty of other insects happy to take advantage of their activities - many of them carefully disguised. Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales; http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/

In this episode we look at the cuckoo pint, which has an unusual flower with the central part, called a spadix, releasing a stench that to our nostrils is quite revolting. Many flowers produce scents to attract pollinators, but few go to quite the same lengths as the cuckoo pint (Arum maculatum). The plant produces a highly unusual flower and the central part, called a spadix, then heats up, releasing a stench that to our nostrils is quite revolting. But of course, the plant isn't trying to attract humans. Instead, it has evolved to attract a single species of moth midge which it traps for the night to make sure that it is covered in pollen, before releasing it the following morning.

In this episode we look at the cuckoo pint, which has an unusual flower with the central part, called a spadix, releasing a stench that to our nostrils is quite revolting. Many flowers produce scents to attract pollinators, but few go to quite the same lengths as the cuckoo pint (Arum maculatum). The plant produces a highly unusual flower and the central part, called a spadix, then heats up, releasing a stench that to our nostrils is quite revolting. But of course, the plant isn't trying to attract humans. Instead, it has evolved to attract a single species of moth midge which it traps for the night to make sure that it is covered in pollen, before releasing it the following morning. Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales; http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/

Learn how to identify common garden bees and find out why they never seem to stay still. In March and April queen bumblebees shake off their winter sleep and emerge to found new colonies. In this episode, we learn how to identify the commonest garden species and find out why they never seem to stay still. Bees, like all species of ants, bees and wasps, have a highly unusual system to determine whether new bees will be male or female. But although all worker bees are female, the queen tries to prevent her daughters from having offspring of their own.