A new wing for Beetle Mansions

Despite the cold and rain, a valiant group of Stag Beetle lovers turned up over the weekend to add a huge extension to the beetles' home in the meadow.

Stag Beetles start life underground as a larvae, and munch their way through rotting logs for seven years or so before emerging as an adult beetle. So when you make a loggery, the first step is to dig a hole...

Then tip your logs in and fill in the gaps with soil...

Then stand back and feel smug and accomplished for a while...

Then go get a cup of tea.

Thanks again to Skanska and the London 2012 Biodiversity Team for the logs. And an extra-special thanks to Helen, Stuart, Gareth, Suzanna and Russell for the mammoth digging effort!

Beetle habitat building - Saturday 19th February

Thanks to Richard Hirst and his team from Skanska (who've been working on the Olympic Park), we now have a fresh pile of logs on the meadow. So on Saturday 19th February, we'll be using them to add a new wing onto the Stag Beetle mansion we built last autumn.

If you'd like to give these rare beetles a bigger and better home, come to the meadow from 11am - 2.30pm and get digging! Tools and gloves will be provided, and it'd be a good idea to wear sturdy shoes.

In the meantime, here's a pic of industrious log-stackers Chloe and Danny who helped get the pile ready for the big event on the 19th.