I though stag beetle larvae fed on wood, and eggs were laid in a rotting log or smilar? And they're bigger than a 10p piece, and not grey! Apart from that....
I have stag beetles and larvae. The larvae, when I come across them (not often) are very big. I have smaller larvae in my compost heap, had wondered if they were vine weevils but now I think they are rosechafer. I shall look them up. I usually chuck them out for the birds to eat. Apparently chickens like them! I did Google it all some years ago, but there wasn't a foolproof answer. I think the legs, or lack of, have it!
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
Have just looked up rose chafers. Rather confusing, the English sites describe them totally differently to the American sites. But they are agreed that they are toxic to birds and shouldn't be given to chickens. English beetles are metallic green, I definitely have them. I also have rose leaves eaten down to skeletons. American ones seem to be reddish brown and slim.
Rose chafers used to make doilies of the leaves on my cherry tree. I got rid of them by putting bird feeders nearby. The birds must have eaten them and I still have birds so....
Have just looked up rose chafers. Rather confusing, the English sites describe them totally differently to the American sites. But they are agreed that they are toxic to birds and shouldn't be given to chickens. English beetles are metallic green, I definitely have them. I also have rose leaves eaten down to skeletons. American ones seem to be reddish brown and slim....
That'll be the suntan and the Californian Diet
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
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I though stag beetle larvae fed on wood, and eggs were laid in a rotting log or smilar? And they're bigger than a 10p piece, and not grey! Apart from that....
They do start off smaller Steve, and sometimes by the time they've eaten the rotting log they're in soil - but then they'd be bigger.
I'm wondering whether they're rosechafer larvae - often found in compost heaps.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I've found them in soil near rotting wood and they looked greyish to me. Didn't see any beetles this year. Hope they're still about.
We once had a cat who would deliberately flip them onto their backs. We were forever flipping them upright again.
That's a useful chart, Dove.
I have stag beetles and larvae. The larvae, when I come across them (not often) are very big. I have smaller larvae in my compost heap, had wondered if they were vine weevils but now I think they are rosechafer. I shall look them up. I usually chuck them out for the birds to eat. Apparently chickens like them! I did Google it all some years ago, but there wasn't a foolproof answer. I think the legs, or lack of, have it!
Have just looked up rose chafers. Rather confusing, the English sites describe them totally differently to the American sites. But they are agreed that they are toxic to birds and shouldn't be given to chickens. English beetles are metallic green, I definitely have them. I also have rose leaves eaten down to skeletons. American ones seem to be reddish brown and slim.
http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/roses/rose-chafers-on-garden-roses.htm
The American rose chafer appears to be Macrodactylus subspinosus whereas the one found in the UK is Centonia aurata http://www.uksafari.com/rosechafers.htm
They appear to be quite different - I think it's the ones in the USA that are bad for poultry.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Rose chafers used to make doilies of the leaves on my cherry tree. I got rid of them by putting bird feeders nearby. The birds must have eaten them and I still have birds so....
That'll be the suntan and the Californian Diet

Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.