Monday/ blame it on the beetles πŸ¦β€β¬›

The invasive beetle first arrived on the U.S. East Coast in 1940, and has moved as far west as Michigan. It was spotted in British Columbia in the early 2000s β€” presumably transported along with freight β€” and is now spreading rapidly in Washington.
– Sandi Doughton reporting in The Seattle Times of Jan. 10, 2021


My neighbor and I are pretty sure it was an invasion of European chafer beetles (Amphimallon majale) that had attracted the crows to come and tear up the lawns here.

There are no easy solutions to the problem, but most invasive insects enjoy a boom period when they move into new areas, but eventually, ecosystems adjust and natural predators and other factors combine to impose a type of equilibrium, says Todd Murray, director of Washington State University’s Puyallup Research and Extension Center.

It’s the larval grubs of the beetle (2), that the crows are after. They are less than an inch long, pearly white, and irresistible to wildlife.

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