About Dock Beetles

Dock beetles are natural and native predators of docks. The adults emerge from hibernation in April/May and lay eggs on the underside of dock leaves. The eggs hatch as larvae and the larvae feed on dock leaves. A full infestation of larvae can skeletonize all of the dock leaves in a field in a matter of days. After about 3 weeks the larvae burrow down into the soil and and a new population of beetles emerges after about a week. The beetles go through three of these life-cycles in a season (May – October) and then they go into hibernation for the winter. Their real strength as a biological control of docks is that they go back into action each spring.

Larva

Each female beetle lays over 1000 eggs in six weeks which allows the population to expand rapidly.

We can supply a Self Distribution inoculation pack of beetles to get your population started.

Alternatively, The Green Submarine can distribute the beetles on your behalf by placing the beetles in an approximate grid size of 15 metres x 15 metres. The density of  the distribution depends on what option you choose – Distribution by The Green Submarine or Bespoke. If you decide to choose a Bespoke service, we ask that you call us to discuss.