GRASS GRUB.

Forest and Bird, Issue 28, 1 October 1932, Page 15

GRASS GRUB.

The activity of the grass grub throughout New Zealand is causing much concern to our agricultural and pastoral workers, and it appears that the starling and sparrow, numerous as they are, are not capable of holding the enemy completely in check. Grass grub not only takes grass but rushes, flax and other plants. Indeed, experiments and observations carried out with yellow leaf in flax indicated that the withering of the leaf was merely the result of attack by grubs on the root system. The birds mentioned undoubtedly do a lot of good work in lessening the grass grub, but it looks as though they are incapable of attacking the pest at any depth, and merely secure the grubs near the surface. It is evident then that we miss such birds as the kiwi, weka and pukeko, which with their strong beaks were able to work in a much more vigorous manner. Unfortunately, it is difficult to see how the first two of these species can be reinstated, as owing to opossum trapping, dogs, and other detriments to them, their re-establishment does not appear feasible. During one season, in one locality only on the West Coast, over a hundred kiwis were caught in opossum traps; some killed outright, and many wounded so that they had to be killed.