[obol] Townsend's Warbler food item

[pamela johnston]

Thanks to Lou for doing the detective work. It sounds like this is the 
perfect critter to hunt for on mild winter afternoons, assuming your tastes 
run to insect larvae. Nice to see introduced pests doing some good for 
native birds.

Pamela Johnston

----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Maryln & Lou Balaban
  To: OBOL
  Sent: Thursday, January 04, 2007 10:34 AM
  Subject: Re: [obol] Townsend's Warbler food item


  I wondered about Crane Fly larvae also. There are many adults flying 
around here in the late summer and fall and brown spots in the lawn.

  A WSU website says: "The European crane fly, Tipula paludosa, is a pest 
which has become established in the Pacific Northwest including British 
Columbia."

  And a french one:
  "Larva: 3 to 4 mm, apodous, earthy grey colour. The cylindrical body, soft 
but very tough extends and retracts considerably; the head can be retracted, 
lending a tightly packed, pudgy appearance.
  - Larva: the young larvae feed on humus and vegetable waste matter which 
is more or less rotted. It is still small in size (1.5 mm) at the start of 
winter. Highly resistant to cold, it overwinters near the surface of the 
ground without diapause them becomes active once more in the spring. It digs 
underground galleries open to the air allowing it to emerge at night.
  - Life Cycle -1 generation per annum for T. paludosa, the most harmful and 
widespread crane fly in Northern Europe, the larvae of which can cause 
severe damage from January to May."

  Lou Balaban
  Roseburg



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