We Love Bugs!

It’s National Insect Week and here at Glass At Designs, I'm passionate about doing my bit to preserve the natural world. I often include representations of plants and animals in my work. In fact, my newest range of glass art includes bee, ladybird, and butterfly garden stakes, which look beautiful both inside and out!

My new fused glass bumblebees and ladybirds

Fused glass - Yellow Brimstone, Cabbage White, Common Blue & Orange Tip

Out where they belong...

It goes further than just my creations though. I actively encourage insects into our garden – with several bug hotels and a barrel pond.

The lovely bee bar at Hanbury Hall. Many insects find it easier to drink from damp moss than a pool. On a sunny day this is surrounded by lots of thirsty bees.

I try to leave as many areas as possible “re-wilded” in our garden, including leaving cut down branches in log piles (apart from any larger oak branches that might be suitable to make into stands for our glass art), which make a great habitat for all sorts of insects. Any pest control that needs to be done is by biological methods, such as using nematodes to control pesky vine weevils.

Our "re-wilded" garden - we see beauty where some see weeds

As a biologist, I fully appreciate the wider impact that insects have on our ecosystems. Last summer we were lucky enough to have a colony of around 50 pipistrelle bats roosting in our roof, no doubt attracted by the rich food supply.

I’ll tell you more about more steps we are taking to be as eco-friendly as we can in future blogs, but in the meantime, why don’t you think about how you can support insects? Encourage them into your outdoor spaces by:

• Finding a spot in your garden that you can leave less manicured

• Introducing some water into your outdoor space. It can be as simple as an upturned bin lid or a shallow pot. Just make sure there is way that they can climb out if necessary.

• Starting a compost heap

• Making a simple bug hotel

An afternoon's project during lockdown for my daughters

You can learn more about insects by:

• Downloading the poster from the Royal Entomological Society https://www.insectweek.co.uk/resources/res-british-insects-poster

• Take part in the "Bugs Matter” survey https://www.buglife.org.uk/get-involved/surveys/bugs-matter/

• Take part in an event https://www.insectweek.co.uk/events

• If you’re under 18, or know someone who is, enter the art or photography competitions https://www.insectweek.co.uk/art-competition https://www.insectweek.co.uk/photography