Nine tips on what to do in the garden so that bugs, frogs and butterflies survive

“The microcosm of invertebrates is terrifying and fascinating at the same time. There is an abundance of shapes, forms and strategies," explains entomologist Petr Šípek from the Faculty of Science of the Charles University in Prague.

However, people do not like spiders (read about spiders in the Czech Republic that can bite painfully here), centipedes, mosquitoes or aphids. But every animal has its own role and function in the ecosystem. "The disappearance of one species can mean the overpopulation of another, or trigger a cascade of extinction of other species," warns Šípek, who prepared an invertebrate exhibition for the public together with his colleague Dominik Vondráček (details here).

According to him, sometimes the triggering mechanisms of the decline of species are subtle, other times the reasons for the disappearance of species are obvious at first glance. "Some species are gradually disappearing, for example when the method of mowing bows changes from manual to machine, which takes place over a large area and on a certain date. We then notice immediate changes due to the chemicalization of the landscape, the plowing of borders, the widespread revitalization of avenues of old trees or the intensification of pond farming." At the same time, Šípek notes that many species disappear without us even noticing.

Devatero for a colorful garden according to entomologist Petr Šípek

1/ Don't put fish in ponds A small pond or pond in the garden can host a whole range of aquatic bugs such as water bugs, here you can observe the fascinating transformation of a dragonfly larva into an adult. A diving beetle or a giant black kingfisher will fly here.

But there is a catch, you must not have fish there. Roundworms, crucian carp or American catfish pose a major threat to small invertebrates and amphibians, which are often dependent on small bodies of water due to intensive fish farming in large ponds. The same applies to small bodies of water in open countryside.

Then, for example, a similar swarm can be observed in the lake (more here):

2/ Cut the grass in a mosaic patternWhether you mow the grass for hay, for feed or ends up in compost , leave flowering herbs or strips of mature grass standing. In this way, you will enable the survival of many species of butterflies, whose caterpillars suddenly lose all their food when the meadow is mowed. The machine mowing the bow at a certain date - due to subsidies - is one of the significant causes of the decline of butterflies in the Czech Republic. This is how, for example, the color-changing yellowtail became extinct in the White Carpathians.

3/ Don't use chemicals unnecessarily Sometimes you can't do without it, on the other hand, be aware that despite the manufacturers' assurances about the ecological safety of their products, residues remain in nature. If you spray nettles with the preparation, you will also kill the butterfly caterpillars that feed on the nettles.

4/ Leave the stumps standingDead wood is home to a number of beetles, millipedes and centipedes, solitary bees, wasps and wasps also nest here. On it, you can observe a loon laying an egg in a sawfly larva deep in the wood. Today, the popular milling of tree stumps (more here) deprives woodpeckers, woodpeckers and perhaps even horned beetles of their living space.

5/ Make compost, don't throw away plant remainsCompost can host larvae of goldfinches and rhinoceroses, groundhogs and woodpeckers can find food here, or perhaps larvae of pinworms (read how to make compost here).

6/ Flower beds are also a benefitColorful flower beds, if not sprayed, attract solitary bees and butterflies, in the evening on them we will find, for example, lichens. Insects are also attracted to flowering shrubs such as dogwood, dogwood or black elder, for example summer lilac or honeysuckle (read how to attract butterflies to your garden here).

7/ Don't get rid of headless old trees Let the old trees in the garden or orchard live on. If they do not threaten their surroundings and it is not dangerous for humans, they represent a home for a number of species.

8/ Build variety in the garden, not an English lawn Try to create a colorful mosaic in the garden. A sterile English lawn will attract significantly fewer species of beneficial insects than a colorful mosaic of shrubs, herbs and trees, in such a garden you can also enjoy birdsong (how to build an eco-garden for sloths, read here.)

9/ Provide an insect house or hotel for invertebratesCreate a suitable home for invertebrates. There are already a number of so-called "insect hotels" on the market, i.e. various houses and hutches containing suitable nesting material for bumblebees, solitary bees and do-it-yourselfers. You can make them yourself, for example, a drilled wooden block or a perforated brick, a pile of pliers or stones is enough.

More about furry pets, solitary bees in the video (and here):

Many species are disappearing from our nature every day On the species diversity of life around us, cultural and reflects social changes in society every day. For example, the disappearance of small grazing caused the overgrowth of the landscape, mainly small pastures and steppes, due to which many species of butterflies disappeared. "Unfortunately, the impoverishment of the landscape is ongoing and is not a positive trend in the future. Recently in Bohemia, for example, the smoke ash, the red-eyed ash and the brown aspen died out," states the entomologist.

The solution is not easy, changing the way of life is hard for a person to imagine. "On the other hand, it is possible to help a number of invertebrates with your approach, at least in your garden or cottage. Thanks to this, you can enjoy the variety of life around us, many types of insects are also useful for us," concludes Petr Šípek.

See, for example, how the crusader spider seizes its victim (more here):