Now while the lavender is a wonderful smelling plant and there is always a temptation to run your hands through it to attract the smell to your hand… I would have to urge you not to do so, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, these creatures, as treasured as they are to our nation, do sting if they feel threatened… and that’s not an experience anyone needs! Secondly, if bees are scared off an area they often leave and don’t ever return, and we don’t want to lose these wonderful and scarce insects! One of the most important functions that bees perform is to cross-pollenate plants in the garden. Naturally the nectar of the plants is the food product that they are after, but in the process, they pick up pollen, which is the male fertilisation component. They carry this pollen, and a lot of it, to other plants and in the process of hunting for more nectar to feed on, they pollenate that plant… this the reproductive cycle of the plant is carried on. Naturally, other species do this as well, but rarely are they as efficient as they bees at picking up pollen and carrying it to other plants. As a result of this it’s easy to see the importance of the bees to our ecology and gardens. The “Asian Multicoloured Ladybird Beetle” pictured below left. While the adults might come in a variety of colours, the larvae all look the same: dark grey with distinct orange markings. They are a large species and are the only one of that size to have branched fleshy spines sticking out all over their body, so they are easy to spot.
