We are now at that stage of the year when heather beetles are at their most destructive, and signs of damage are beginning to emerge. If anyone sees the familiar signs of heather beetle damage, please could they let us know. There is a survey form on the heather beetle section of the website, but information in any form will be gratefully received. This information will help us to establish the best possible picture of the range and extent of heather beetle outbreaks, this year.
The
life cycle of the heather beetle involves several larval stages
which can be
extremely damaging to the heather plants, and the end of July and
beginning of
August is usually the peak of activity for these unassuming little
grubs.
Even as they feed on the heather shoots, the
plants begin to
show signs of stress. Otherwise healthy heather plants look red
and dry, and
even in mild cases the emerging flowers will die back. The
characteristic “burning
bush” of September and October coincides with the hatch of adult
heather
beetles, and the damage is sometimes assumed to take place during
early autumn.
In reality, while adult heather beetles do feed on heather shoots,
the bulk of
the damage is caused by larvae at this time of year.
Having discovered a very concentrated outbreak
of heather
beetle on Patrick Laurie’s farm
near Dumfries,
we are now taking every opportunity to study this situation at
close hand.
Already we have been looking at precisely how the larvae use the
heather and
hope to document the progress of the attack as autumn approaches.
The outbreak is concentrated on an area of
heavily grazed heather
which has been free from all livestock since February 2010. Close
examination
reveals that the majority of the past four years’ regeneration has
been impacted
by beetle larvae, and it will be very interesting to discover how
the plants
react to the damage.
The Heather Trust is always looking for
information about
beetle outbreaks wherever they take place, and we will be trying
to gather news
over the coming weeks as damage caused by beetle begins to show up
across the country.
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