Nature on our doorsteps: The long and the short of it

Pollinating insects need certain key things to survive throughout their brief life cycles.

Adults need plenty of flowers with lots of pollen and nectar.

Also, because many larvae and caterpillars only eat specific species of plants, a variety of native food plants is essential.

That is not all, however. Some adult insects hibernate, and many larvae overwinter as grubs or as developing cocoons.

These need hibernation places where they can lie undisturbed until springtime.

Each of these requirements need to be considered when we aim to support pollinating insects in our gardens and parks.

One way to help is by managing the height of our lawns and meadows.

Long meadows allow a wider variety of tall grasses and wildflowers to bloom

‘Long meadows’ are cut only once a year. This allows grass and native wildflowers grow tall in summertime, providing lots of flowers and leaves for adults and larvae to feed on.

These meadows are cut in autumn after flowering.

Some long meadows should be left uncut over winter, to provide grassy tussocks and hollow plant stems for adult insects and larvae to hibernate in. These meadows are then cut in spring before new growth starts.

‘Short meadows’, however, are cut every six weeks during growing season.

This prevents grass becoming long and straggly while also allowing low-growing lawn flowers like Clovers, Buttercups, Self-Heal, and Bird’s-foot trefoil to bloom.

For more information, go HERE.