Greenfly in the Apple Tree

The Bramley apple tree in the middle of the garden was attacked this year by thousands of Rosy Apple Aphids, apparently the most common apple greenfly, though it's never happened here before. 

             

               Curly leaves created by aphids                            Curled leaf with pink aphids

None of the apple cordons suffered, but all the leaves of the big tree curled up tightly and it looked really poorly. Bumble  bees began to haunt the top of the tree, attracted by the nectar - although it's not really good for them being just sugar rather than the nutrients they need and would get from the pollen in the flowers. 

                

Anyway, I was at my wits' end because I couldn't reach to spray with anything even if that would have helped. But one day I found the tree full of different tits: blue, long-tailed, willow and coal,  bustling round purposefully - eating the aphids. 

                                                

They flocked around for about a week and at the end of that time they had eaten every aphid. Most of the leaves have now uncurled and the tree is looking healthy. The bluetits are the vacuum cleaners of the garden, daily going over the shrubs to gobble up insects, but this was an eye opener for me. They have tiny little thin beaks that can get inside a curled up leaf which is why, I suppose, the sparrows with their nutcracking beaks were not part of the first aid team. 

                                     

We are told that bluetits eat 34 billion caterpillars every year - I can vouch  for the fact that the tits in my garden can eat a whole treeful of aphids in a week. 

Ladybirds would, no doubt, have helped but beetles seem to be very late in appearing this year and I didn't begin to find them until after the birds had done their work. 

Developing ladybird on a Senecio

I can't say I know of anything helpful about the foxes in the garden. But I quite like the way they have commandeered the roof of the shed from where they can survey the garden while sunbathing and having a good scratch.   Here is the young one, seen by my next door neighbour from an upstairs window.