GARDENS are like miniature wildlife safari parks. Instead of providing homes for creatures such as lions and elephants, there are minibeasts prowling in the undergrowth.

Snails, spiders, beetles, worms and bees are just a few of the thousands of minibeasts that inhabit gardens. A fifteen-year study of one Leicester garden found over 2,000 different species.

Some see the creatures as pests, but most minibeasts are an asset to the garden. Ladybirds and lacewings eat aphids, while ground and rove beetles tackle slugs and caterpillars. They all have an important part to play, as pollinators of plants, decomposers of waste and as food for other species.

The first principle of making your garden minibeast friendly is ensuring you have an abundance of flowers throughout the year. Varieties such as Michaelmas daisies, ivy, buddleia, foxgloves, hawthorn and saxifrage will all attract a wealth of insects.

Creating habitat piles out of dead wood will attract a variety of beetles and hoverflies. Use logs rather than sticks, and pick a spot at the edge of shade to get a balance of warmth and moisture.

If you have a well-maintained compost heap, you will find a whole town of minibeasts already living in the warm, damp conditions.

A pond, however small, will bring new species of minibeast to the garden. But of course, the larger the pond the more creatures you will attract. Go for an edge that provides a mixture of cover and open ground, while using both submerged and emerging plants. Beware of alien species such as parrot's feather or New Zealand pygmy weed though, they can quickly take over your pond.

Almost all minibeasts are cold blooded. This means that they get their body heat from external sources rather than from their food. Providing small warm spots in the garden where minibeasts can sunbathe are vital. Bare soil, concrete paths, building walls or rockery rocks are all regular sunbathing spots for creatures such as butterflies, wasps and beetles.

Finally, most garden minibeasts need somewhere to hide at certain times, either to sleep, escape from predators or shelter from the rain and sun. Dense vegetation, dead leaves, hollow stems or plants with a rosette of leaves are just a few examples of great hiding places.

Whatever the size, state or location of your garden there will be minibeasts hiding in the undergrowth. They are fascinating creatures and often provide our first encounter with the natural world. They can also tell us a lot about the health of the environment, if minibeasts are disappearing then we know we are in trouble too! So, why not try hunting for minibeasts?

If you want to find out more about insects and study minibeasts, have a look at some ideas of fun activities in the box below.

For more information on making your garden wildlife friendly contact the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust on 01865 775476 or visit the website at www.bbowt.org.uk.

Creepy crawly fun

Pitfall traps are clean yoghurt pots with a small hole in the bottom for drainage, sunk into the ground.

Cover with a flat piece of wood, raised off the surface a couple of centimetres by some stones. (This prevents mice and shrews falling into the pot). Leave overnight, and see what's inside in the morning.

Place a white sheet under a tree and shake the branches vigorously. Lots of creatures will fall out onto the sheet, which you can examine inside a bug pot. Native trees such as oak, ask and hawthorn are best.

Explore log piles, under stones and corrugated iron. Look out for flying insects near nectar-producing flowers.

Some are easily recognisable, such as earthworms, slugs, snails, butterflies, spiders, ladybirds and wasps. For those trickier creatures, you can refer to a simple ID book. Remember to always carefully put minibeasts back where you found them.