Big fat white grubs in the garden - Harringay online2024-03-28T22:30:41Zhttps://harringayonline.com/forum/topics/big-fat-white-grubs-in-the-garden?commentId=844301%3AComment%3A1351702&feed=yes&xn_auth=noSplendid local natural histor…tag:harringayonline.com,2020-11-26:844301:Comment:13517022020-11-26T21:46:43.671ZGordon Thttps://harringayonline.com/profile/GordonT
<p>Splendid local natural history, respect to all.</p>
<p>I hope the 'I'm a Celebrity..." researchers don't pick this up for the next series' 'Bushtucker Trials' !</p>
<p>Splendid local natural history, respect to all.</p>
<p>I hope the 'I'm a Celebrity..." researchers don't pick this up for the next series' 'Bushtucker Trials' !</p> Thanks very much for all the…tag:harringayonline.com,2020-11-26:844301:Comment:13518882020-11-26T18:40:56.043ZDick Harrishttps://harringayonline.com/profile/DickHarris
<p>Thanks very much for all the reactions and web sources. Quite separately I consulted a friend whose father worked for years in the Natural History Museum entomology department. I now hear that dad's instant reaction was "stag beetle" so we now have a majority decision! Dad also said "all stag beetles need is love and wood", "about 3 years until these grubs are beetles. If you're prepared to leave them, you can cover them back over with earth somewhere".</p>
<p>The ones pictured above…</p>
<p>Thanks very much for all the reactions and web sources. Quite separately I consulted a friend whose father worked for years in the Natural History Museum entomology department. I now hear that dad's instant reaction was "stag beetle" so we now have a majority decision! Dad also said "all stag beetles need is love and wood", "about 3 years until these grubs are beetles. If you're prepared to leave them, you can cover them back over with earth somewhere".</p>
<p>The ones pictured above disappeared overnight and would probably have been fox prey once I had dug over the ground. Today, I found a few more of the grubs and followed the suggestion of burying them with some rotting wood where I hope foxes won't dig them up. Only once in my life have I seen a stag beetle and it wasn't in London. This image allegedly shows the territorial distribution of stag beetles in England so we are, at least, on the beetles' home ground:</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/8218073859?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/8218073859?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-left" width="460" height="562"/></a></p> I saw a couple of stag beetle…tag:harringayonline.com,2020-11-26:844301:Comment:13519472020-11-26T15:44:08.813ZJuliehttps://harringayonline.com/profile/JulieBlue
<p>I saw a couple of stag beetles flying a few years ago. They were amazing - like miniature humming-birds. </p>
<p>I saw a couple of stag beetles flying a few years ago. They were amazing - like miniature humming-birds. </p> They do look very similar but…tag:harringayonline.com,2020-11-26:844301:Comment:13516562020-11-26T13:45:30.433ZLizhttps://harringayonline.com/profile/Liz
<p>They do look very similar but given where you found them i.e. in the bottom of a well rotted tree I'd say stag beetle. Stags favour old wood stumps whereas chafers prefer living roots.</p>
<p>If you've got stag beetles, that is really exciting and hopefully you can put them back underground in a <a href="https://ptes.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Build-a-log-pile-for-stag-beetles.pdf" rel="noopener" target="_blank">loggery .</a></p>
<p>(and invite me round if they come out in…</p>
<p>They do look very similar but given where you found them i.e. in the bottom of a well rotted tree I'd say stag beetle. Stags favour old wood stumps whereas chafers prefer living roots.</p>
<p>If you've got stag beetles, that is really exciting and hopefully you can put them back underground in a <a href="https://ptes.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Build-a-log-pile-for-stag-beetles.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">loggery .</a></p>
<p>(and invite me round if they come out in May!)</p>
<p>There's a campaign to <a href="https://www.wildlondon.org.uk/stag-beetle-campaign" target="_blank" rel="noopener">map stag beetles</a> and as you can see they are a relatively rare species on this part of London although more common in South West London.</p>
<p>@john The Romans considered the grubs a delicacy.</p> More stag than chafer. Either…tag:harringayonline.com,2020-11-26:844301:Comment:13513262020-11-26T09:02:30.475ZPhiliphttps://harringayonline.com/profile/PhilipFoxe
<p>More stag than chafer. Either way no threat.</p>
<p>More stag than chafer. Either way no threat.</p> They look very much like Chaf…tag:harringayonline.com,2020-11-26:844301:Comment:13516102020-11-26T09:00:44.677ZGranthttps://harringayonline.com/profile/Grant806
<p>They look very much like Chafer grubs to me, rather than stag beetle larvae <a href="https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=909" target="_blank">https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=909</a> </p>
<p>They look very much like Chafer grubs to me, rather than stag beetle larvae <a href="https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=909" target="_blank">https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=909</a> </p> Stag beetle larvae, deffo!!!…tag:harringayonline.com,2020-11-26:844301:Comment:13515122020-11-26T07:34:58.778ZJhttps://harringayonline.com/profile/J336
<p>Stag beetle larvae, deffo!!! How exciting. Hide them away again... </p>
<p>Stag beetle larvae, deffo!!! How exciting. Hide them away again... </p> I think they might be stag be…tag:harringayonline.com,2020-11-26:844301:Comment:13515062020-11-26T06:34:54.232ZJuliehttps://harringayonline.com/profile/JulieBlue
<p>I think they might be stag beetle larvae in which case an amazing find - do you still have them?</p>
<p>I think they might be stag beetle larvae in which case an amazing find - do you still have them?</p> Bush tucker ?tag:harringayonline.com,2020-11-26:844301:Comment:13513072020-11-26T04:30:22.879ZJohn Dhttps://harringayonline.com/profile/JohnD
<p>Bush tucker ?</p>
<p>Bush tucker ?</p>