Mystery surrounds hundreds of black beetles: Te Atatu South.
Mystery surrounds the gathering of hundreds of South African black beetles outside Countdown Te Atatu South on Tuesday night.
Concerned shoppers posted on a Facebook community page that they had seen a swarm of the critters on the footpath, spreading to the carpark.
A resident reported a security guard was trying to sweep them from the door outside the supermarket.
Beetle scientist Rich Leschen from Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research said the South African black beetles were nocturnal creatures.
"They're active at night, flying around looking for mates."
Leschen said the huge number of beetles may have been attracted to the bright artificial lights outside the west Auckland supermarket.
"They're really gathered there by the light, not there to get toilet paper," he said.
"One thing is they will probably be more active with the warmer nights which is normal for a lot of insects in general.
"They might be more active because of the rain."
Leschen said the adults were harmless but large numbers of larvae could remove the leaves of some trees, according to literature.
"I haven't seen them defoliate leaves here," he said.
"In my opinion, I think they're probably more critical as turf and pasture pests.
"Everyone probably has them in their garden. The blackbirds are able to find the larvae when they're close to the surface and they dig 'em out from the tufts in the grass."
Leschen said there were thousands and thousands of species of beetles in New Zealand with many more yet to be discovered.
He decided to study natural history when he was a young biology student, "so I just gravitated to beetles, maybe because there's so damn many of them."
Leschen said his affinity for the insects evolved over time and was unrelated to a traumatic childhood encounter.
"I think I was three years old and I stuck my finger in its mandibles and this is quite a large beetle in the United States," he said.
"It bit me and I hated it. I was screaming and crying and I killed it.
"It didn't really influence me at all to work with beetles."
We're talking new year resolutions...
Tidying the house before going to bed each night, meditating upon waking or taking the stairs at work.
What’s something quick, or easy, that you started doing that made a major positive change in your life?
Riddles to Resolve Your Resolution!
I shave every day, but my beard stays the same.
What am I?
Do you think you know the answer to our daily riddle? Don't spoil it for your neighbours! Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm.
Want to stop seeing riddles in your newsfeed?
Head here and hover on the Following button on the top right of the page (and it will show Unfollow) and then click it. If it is giving you the option to Follow, then you've successfully unfollowed the Riddles page.
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Loading…
