Compost move completed
We have been very lucky with the weather in September. Today I finished moving the compost from my Dalek-type bins to my square bins next to the greenhouse. The first compost bin I emptied was the middle one in terms of how long the compost had been in there. I didn’t find any larvae in it. The second bin that I emptied was the most recent to be filled, and it was full of larvae. The third bin that I emptied was the first to be filled, so had some lovely crumbly compost in it, and that was full of larvae too. I have come to the conclusion that the reason I didn’t find any larvae in the first bin I emptied was that the eggs hadn’t hatched then, or hadn’t been laid.
(Update: when I first wrote this post, I thought the larvae were vine weevil larvae. I now think they are cockchafer larvae (previously illustrated in April 2009), as they have small brown legs, and vine weevil larvae haven’t got any legs. Also I think they are a lot smaller).
Whatever sort of larvae they are, here is a set of six for you to look upon with revulsion:
Larvae found in compost heap
I would take a picture of my progress, except that it doesn’t look much different from before because I haven’t moved the empty round compost bins yet. They are useful to cover the earth as a cat deterrent.
The next job is to stain the greenhouse staging, now that the wood preservative I applied must have dried by now. I would much rather break up the path, but the weather is right for staining (not too hot, not too cold) and I had better get on with it.
I discovered larvae like these buried under my compost pile also ( in Sacramento Calif.) Are they friend or foe in the garden?
I too found these in my compost pile in Denver, Colorado. I’m anxious to know what they are…as whatever they are the progress of my pile accelerated. Any idea would be most appreciated. Thank.