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ABOUT HOW BADGERS LIVE THEIR LIVES ACROSS THE UK

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Insects and other "creepy crawlies"

The following are eaten:
  • Large beetles (such as dung beetles, which are found in cow pats). Cows compulsively avoid eating any type of dung (their own or that of any other animal), so much so that around the edge of a cowpat, a ring of lush green grass will soon appear - as the cows will not even eat up to the edge of the cowpat. This gives a chance for various insects (like large dung beetles to earn a living doing whatever it is they need to do with cow pats). These dung beetles provide common snack items for badgers. Careful study of the area around cowpats can sometimes provide evidence for badgers being active in the local area!
  • The leatherjacket grubs, larvae (grubs) of crane flies, certain moths, and beetles - these feed on the roots of grasses and are dug up by the badger. Whilst gardeners may "complain" about a little hole that needs filling in, they may be happier if they knew that the hole was created by a badger as it dug out and ate a group of grubs of serious garden insect pests.
  • Wasp larvae (badgers often dig out wasp nests so that they can eat the larvae). Rather curiously, badgers have been seen to almost ignore a wasps nest over a period of several weeks, and on one particular night decide to go and open up the nest and eat the grubs inside. It is thought that the badgers picks a particular night to try a maximise the number and size of wasp grubs inside. The badger digs through the top of the wasps nests, tearing the layers off to get to the grubs. In doing this is avoids the worst of the attacks from the guard wasps at the entrance
  • Honey and larvae from bumblebee nests; although these nests are often much smaller than wasp nests.