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G'day All,
I agree with Ian Temby , having had some past
experience with these grubs, in the early eighties I visited a friend just out
of Melbourne and he was cursing the Aust. Magpies because they were
digging up large areas of his enormous lawn..it took a lot to convince him that
these birds were digging out the grubs which had already killed large patches of
lawn..and it was very evident that under these dead patches were hundreds of
miniature Witchetty Grubs....good Magpie tucker...
I was a farmer in the Adelaide hills in the early
seventies and we had lots of problems with "Cockchafer beetles/larva" in
our pastures and I recall reading an article in the Stock and Station
Journal..including pictures etc. about a bloke in the SE of Sth. Aus. who had
solved the problem and was keeping these insects under control by using
STARLINGS.....yes... he had erected nest boxes all around his property and
encouraged starlings to breed, because they kept the pasture beetle under
control......I wonder what is happening these days ... I guess lots of sprays..
and I wonder how this weighs up against the poor old starling...has he earnt his
place in OZ ?
Doug Holly
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