Day 16: Connecting with nature to improve my wellbeing in the dark days of winter by finding a Vine Weevil

Exploring with my torch

The temperature is warm for the middle of December. I go to work and return in the dark – and enthusiastically wear my Lidl’s Christmas Bobble hat everywhere – but it is way too warm for a hat at the moment. This evening after my evening walk with the dogs, I grab my torch and head out to the garden to see what I can find in the way of wildlife. I have high hopes for a decent invertebrate due to the temperature being in double figures. I decide to look around the garden wall that borders the driveway. I am slowy scooching along the two foot high wall, shining my torch into every nook and cranny. There is a veritable army of slugs and woodlice out and about. Then, my eye catches what can only be a beetle.

A Very Fine Vine Weevil

My heart always skips a beat when I see a beetle. Coleoptera are the largest order of insects with approximately 400, 000 species worldwide. The variety of sizes and colours of the species just in the UK is extraordinary. I love the fact that Weevils look like they have a snout! The one I found this evening was slow due to the relatively cold weather. I think their patterning looks like the brindle colouring of a Whippet.

Weevils – Not Welcomed By All

Gardeners do not welcome Weevils. The larvae do a lot of damage to potted plants and greenhouse roots and can kill the plants. The adults will eat stems and leaves but will not cause serious damage to plants. The larvae can be biologically and organically controlled using nematodes. All my neighbours use the nematodes with huge success. I have put a link to the one a friend of mine orders from Amazon. I don’t use any pest control or pesticides or herbicides – however nematodes are organic and non-chemical. https://amzn.eu/d/boKmddR

Joy in Tiny Animals

This evening finding this small Vine Weevil has filled me with joy – it has been food for my soul. Get outside and connect with nature – let me know what you find. Good luck combating the winter blues. Try and get outside everyday- I look forward to hearing from you.