For the last few days, a mix of songbirds have been gathering beneath our large Siberian elms, feasting on nearly invisible prey that they pick from the driveway. Based on past experience, I know the victims are the tiny, translucent larvae of elm-leaf beetles.
Robins, spotted towhees, house finches and chipping sparrows have been the primary diners and it is amazing how quickly they locate and ingest the larvae. Of course, those slugs that fall into the grass are relatively safe; no comparable flock of hunters has been observed on that side of the tree.
Another brood of larvae will hatch and drop in late summer when a second feast will ensue.
See also: A Shower of Larvae
