There is something naturally fascinating about predators, and the dramatic battles for survival that take place every day in the animal kingdom.
TV documentaries show prides of lions chasing buffalos across the Serengeti, or jaguars pouncing on caiman in the Amazon. But we don’t have to turn on the television to see hunters in action.
Every habitat has its predators and their prey, including our garden lawns – especially when we let them grow a little wilder. The scale may be smaller, but the stakes are just as high!
Birds
Birds are the most obvious of our lawn predators. Blackbirds hop around the garden, searching for worms and if they have chicks to feed, they might collect whole beakfuls of worms to carry back to their nest. Earthworms are a key part of many birds’ diets, especially thrushes and robins, and even tawny owls.
Aside from worms, birds will also snatch spiders and insects from taller patches of grass and even dig creatures out of the soil. Starlings specialise in hunting leatherjackets – the larvae of craneflies, which burrow into lawns – by probing the soil with their beak
Beetles
There are more than 4,000 beetle species in the UK, and plenty in our gardens, many of which are predators too. One of the most familiar is the ladybird, which are voracious hunters of aphids.
Some predatory beetles are harder to spot. At just 2-3cm long, a violet ground beetle might not seem too fearsome, but to slugs, snails, and other invertebrates these beetles are bad news. They spend the day lurking under logs, beneath bark, or in the soil, before emerging after dark to hunt.
Amphibians
Though water is essential for the lifecycle of frogs, toads, and newts, as adults they spend a lot of their time on land. Patches of long grass provide shelter and, by trapping moisture, help prevent amphibians from drying out in warm weather. Tall grasses act as well-stocked larders too, as these conditions are also perfect for the worms, slugs, spiders, and insects they like to eat.
These are just a few of the predators that could be prowling our lawns. The wilder the lawn, the more wildlife it’s likely to support. Try letting some patches grow longer, and allow wildflowers to flourish even on the shorter sections.
For more tips and advice on bringing a lawn to life download our free booklet from wildaboutgardens.org.uk
And if you’re inspired to create a wilder garden, why not sign up to Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust’s new Wildlife Garden Get Togethers by visiting hiwwt.org.uk/wildlife-garden-get-together