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Gardening in the UK

weird burrowing insects - help ID

21 years ago

My friends plants were generally failing to thrive so I tipped one of the large pots out to find many ants running around a maze of tunnels bored through the soil. Also, there were lots of cream/white creatures like some sort of larvae with legs and two pincer type head appendages. They were small - about 2-4 mm long, 1 - 1.5 mm wide and moved fairly speedily. I have never seen these in my life and wonder what best to do for the poor plants. The tunnelling is not throughout the soil, only in localised patches. Any ideas?

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Comments (4)

lk_levy
21 years ago
These sound like ground beetle larvae , which are good guys !!(so don't squat them) . They will help control slugs and other nasties. Generally bugs that move quick are the good ones, slower ones eat you plants !
all_in_ur_head
21 years ago
i was wondering if someone could help me identify an insect. it flew into our garden and id never seen it before its about 2 inches long and abouthalf an inch wide it had a large stinger??? about an inch long. its colourings is a black body with yellow end and long black and yellow antennor things.ive searched loads of sites trying to find it!
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philbrand
21 years ago
it sounds to me that you have been visited by a giant woodwasp and the stinger is not that at all but the females ovipositor , go on google images and there are plenty of pics to browse thru
pellie_grower
21 years ago
I reckon the white grubs were ant pupa

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