Bugs

Though the name is often used to describe a variety of mini-beasts other than the showy ones – butterflies, bees and dragonflies – bugs are actually beetle relations. Typical dune bugs are chafers, weevils, and ground beetles. In the broad sense, however, it would be a pity to forget the grasshoppers, ants and myriad other types of mini-beasts found there. Normally these little creatures go unnoticed. However, hot summer weather can trigger a hatch of chafers, which can be so obstructive as to actually interfere with putting. They also lay their eggs in the sward resulting in larval damage to the grass roots.

Though chemicals can address the problem temporarily, an ecological solution – allowing predation by birds – may prove more effective in the long run. A specialist dune bug is the dor beetle, a dumpy black insect which makes its living feeding on rabbit droppings. This enterprising beetle pushes the round nutritious droppings backwards into its underground tunnel to provide food for their larvae, on hatching.