Beetles

Some of my gardening friends have complained of large creatures in the night digging up their lawns, maybe foxes or badgers, both common round here. The RHS suggested that chafer bugs are the most likely quarry. A real problem as our beautiful British may-bug is increasingly rare, partly because of pesticides, partly competition from the less attractive European_chafer. To the untrained eye the stag-beetle larva looks similar. This spectacular chap also lives in lawns, but is endangered and protected. Some live in my beetle sanctuary, a pile of logs rotted while waiting to be stacked in the garage. It's a real pleasure to find a mature one, so keep protecting and providing for them! A few holes in your lawns must be a small price, maybe if everyone had beetle sanctuaries they'd leave the lawns alone.