We need more larvae, a lot more larvae! That's our mission, our first in this year.
This time we were headed to a field in Vercelli, Piedmont.
While driving, the bus would shake and make weird noises when applying the brakes which is why we stopped a first time to inspect our tires and a second time at a mechanics to let him check properly.
We found a mechanic, somewhere in the Gottardo region, and there comes this old guy, something between 70 and 80 years old, he takes a look at the bus, grunts, takes the key and drives off. Still in the backseat sitting - Aidan, our newest team member 😳
As they drove off we didn't quite know what just happened and imagined: if this was Columbia, Aidan would have been long sold and we would never see our car again. Luckily, we are in Switzerland and they returned 10min later, Aidan was safe and unharmed. Sooner or later we would need new brakes but for the moment we are fine to continue our journey.
Arriving in Vercelli, we found the most perfect place for Japanese beetles. There was a blueberry field right next to an irrigated football field. Perfect for the beetles and perfect for oviposition.
And wow, did we find a lot of larvae! They literally popped out of the soil, we didn't have to dig deep. There were up to 40 larvae per hole. It was very satisfying and a lot of fun.
We found the 1500+ larvae in no time and earned ourselves a good lunch before heading home. What a good day!
