The month of July in Andalucia is a time when many young creatures become active around the garden. Many have been waiting for the warmth to build up to trigger their hatching or were previously too tiny to be noticed. There are hundreds of mini sized grasshoppers which ping through the dried grasses as we walk beneath the olive trees. A closer look also reveals some diminutive Ameles species of mantis which live amongst the islands of grass which we leave uncut as a refuge for wildlife. This is a time of plentiful bounty for the many young birds which have fledged around the garden.
Spiderlings scurry across the ground as I selectively weed (the nicer weeds get transplanted) through the organic vegetable gardens. A particular species which is more numerous intrigued me, so having caught one in a glass for closer inspection and photographed it, my suspicions were confirmed, they are 5mm long replicas of their parents;
Andalucian Funnel Web Spiders (Macrothele calpeiana). We have plenty of adults scattered about in the dry stone walls and old tree stumps but we deter them from living too close to the house by limiting the nooks and crannies that they need. The silken entrances to their webs are now very visible as the under-growth dies back in the heat. Some have even made their homes in the cracks appearing in the ground, presumably these are juveniles as the tubes are not so large.
The first young Iberian wall lizards are scuttling around showing off their blue tails which are no doubt so coloured to attract a predator’s eyes, if captured the tail can be dropped and re-grown allowing the lizard escape. I caught a glimpse of a 2 to 3mm length black insect which turned out to be a field cricket, only one so far but maybe it’s an ‘early bird’ and there will be more emerging over the coming weeks. Ants are busy carrying seed stocks back to their nests along meandering narrow pathways which are cleared for this purpose.
Mantises have long been the subject of folklore and have attracted the fascination of many an observer. Maybe it is because of their patience and stealth in hunting or more likely, that they return the observers gaze. We have noted different species living around the garden which, if approached quietly, are unperturbed by my little camera. So I too have begun to study their lifecycles, looking out for their foam egg cases, tiny hatchlings, wingless nymphs and impressive adults. My intrigue was first piqued when we found an unusual looking critter nearby in spring 2007, this turned out to be the only endemic mantis species in Iberia which due to its rarity is protected -
Apteromantis aptera. It is told apart from the rest by its lack of wings even in adult stages and sharply ‘v’ shaped head.
Amongst the five (so far) mantis species on site, the
Cone-head mantis must be the most peculiar. As the common name suggests it has a cone shape protruding from the top of its head! The nymphs of the common
Praying mantis are appearing here and there, if found too close to the chicken pen then they are moved to safety into a part of the vegetable patch where they can work their way through the whitefly and other pests on our behalf.
As the cicadas whining in the trees fall silent into the still of the evening, the sky becomes busy with insect-catching birds; Swallows, Swifts and Bee-eaters which are joined and eventually replaced by various bats as the light begins to fade and the night-time sounds begin. Eagle and Scops owl calls are distant whereas close by beetles buzz heavily through the air and the ground is littered with churring crickets.
Not only is the world of insects fascinating it is also an essential part of the food chain for a myriad of creatures.
Use of chemical insecticides will disrupt this balance whereas there are organic alternatives which are safer for the user and the environment.
A simple garlic recipe used against garden pests in vegetable plots or terraces alike is used successfully on organic crops by
Iberian Endemics garden services.
Nature and Environment 
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