BT have at last replaced half a mile of telephone line with a much stronger one
to our house, so it is nice to be able to view the Pemb Wildlife
blog.
Lyndon, 17.4.14 sent a photo of a mound with a
hole in it. I was recently on Skokholm where I learned about Minotaur beetles.
They are quite impressive looking beasts. The male has these three prongs,which
I was told were used for fighting. The female digs these enormous burrows which
have side galleries which she stuffs with rabbit droppings and then lays
eggs.
I've never personally seen this beetle on the
main land. What I have seen, making somewhat smaller burrows are oil beetles,
with their amazing life cycle. This has been a very good year for
them.
Best Wishes, Peter Byles.
I would not completely rule out the possibility of these mounds as having been produced by either Minotaur Beetles or Oil Beetles as it is difficult to tell the size from a photo. Still, they are much rarer on the mainland whereas mining bees of many species are quite commonly encountered.
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