Nest e emergence holes near a holly Ilex aquifolium stump, 2008_0620

A third emergence hole to the upper left of the stump is not visible, the scale is a 15 cm ruler.
This tree was felled during 2003 or possibly later on in 2004.
It is also on the grounds of Christ Church and is adjacent to Cambridge Walk

First | Previous Picture | Next Picture | Last | Thumbnails

PS: In September 2008 these stumps were accidentally broken off by children playing in the area and
then discarded, unfortunately.
About one month later we buried there an old oak log in order to restore the nest.
This log is completely buried to avoid further problems. During this operation we found 2 L2 and 13 L3
Lucanus cervus larvae; two of them had recently moulted (1 L2 and 1 L3) thus suggesting that
a) some eggs had been laid this summer b) by mid-Ocotber most of the larvae had reached the L3 stage.
The same development occurred with Cetonia aurata, we found there 2 L3 larvae.
This nest was repaired together the children that normally play there. They got really excited with
the larvae, which weren't damaged in the process thanks to Paul Hendriks very skillful digging.