BRUTAL BATTLE IN WOODS
DENDROCTONUS MICANS
LENGTH: 6mm - 8mm Non-native, and one of the largest bark beetles, it is thought to have arrived in untreated wood from infected sites in Europe.
The beetle has a long life cycle, living from 12 to 18 months.
It crawls between trees but when temperatures hit 22.5C, it can fly.
RHIZOPHAGUS GRANDIS
LENGTH: 4.5mm - 5.5mm Originally from Siberia, it’s a natural predator of the spruce bark beetle.
Scientists now breed it in labs to specifically target blighted forestry sites.
It costs 10p to rear each bug and its rapid reproduction rate means that just 25 of the insects are needed in an infected area.