There are too many cockchafers in the Austrian municipality of Gaschurn-Partenen. Now the population should help out and get a free cool down in return.
The municipality of Gaschurn-Partenen in Austria has a problem: there are too many cockchafers there. Because of them, farmers are worried about the harvest, and the dead animals are lying on the streets, reports “Vol.at”. But now a solution to this problem could have been found that will benefit everyone in the end.
The beetles are to be collected by the population in a five-litre bucket. Anyone who then drops this off at the waste collection point in Gaschurn can look forward to a reward. The municipality’s Instagram post states: “For each bucket you get an entry ticket for our outdoor pools in Gaschurn or Partenen.”
And that’s not all: “The person who collects the most beetles will receive a season ticket for the Mountain Beach or the Partenen outdoor pool as a thank you.”
As the “Nature Conservation Association of Germany” informs, the female cockchafers lay their eggs in the loose soil after mating. The cockchafer larvae (grubs) develop in the soil. This takes about four years. They feed on plant roots. “The grubs eat the fresh roots and also the bark of larger roots. The root damage can damage the trees to such an extent that water and nutrients can no longer be absorbed or passed on and the tree dies,” writes the Federal Environment Agency.
Cockchafers grow to around 30 millimeters in size and, as adults, feed on a wide variety of deciduous trees and shrubs, according to the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES).
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