# 2240# 2239Not sure if the top one's the dreaded harlequin, or if it's related to the larvae below.

# 1507

The British Climate To The Rescue?

Since first spotting the dreaded harlequin beetle on a walk with my dog last year I've kept a close eye on where I found them in large colonies on sapling sycamores. About a month ago I noticed their return in juvenile form as what in the past I took to be a type of scale insect. Yesterday I noticed this had happened to them:

# 1180# 1179
Almost overnight it seems they have all succumbed to what I take is a virulent fungal infection (I once saw something similar on a TV nature documentary.) Running my finger over one turned it to powder. It seems that our humid spring's not always to their liking.. hurray!

# 01006

# 01001# 01000# 00999# 00998# 00997