There are 300,000 species of beetles in the world. That is an estimate.
There are 300,000 Japanese beetles in our yard. That is a fairly accurate count.
This is a bumper year for these bugs. Beetle larvae thrive in warm, moist conditions. I once thought rising sea levels and shriveled corn crops were major threats of climate change. Now I think the threat is Japanese beetles.
We were counting on help from neighborhood birds. But the work has been mine, trapping beetles in those hanging plastic bags adorned with the sexy pheromone scent lure.
The bags fill quickly, ugly bugs in a clot of struggling legs. I secure the bags with tight knots, and put them in the garbage, beetle legs still clawing as the lid falls.
We have collected 12 bags in five days.
I am disappointed in the birds that visit our yard. Some birds are rumored to eat these pests. Cardinals are supposed to eat adult Japanese beetles, and, supposedly, starlings, robins, catbirds, Purple Martins, and Blue Jays. I think that is fantasy.
Many bird species will eat the beetle grubs, of course, digging up your grass for soft food to feed baby birds. Beetles have hard shells, no bones, the shell of the beetle being the bone, so to speak.
