Great tits have saved conkers from extinction – by gobbling mini worms

Great tits have saved conkers from extinction – sending tree lovers bonkers.

Fans of the game conkers were potentially facing an eradication, due to a deadly predator eating through the trees. They suggested generations of British youth may have never got to experience them.

The birds and their blue tit cousins have gobbled billions of mini worms killing Britain’s favourite tree, the horse chestnut. Chestnut trees have been damaged by the grubs which invaded Britain 20 years ago, with warnings the nasties would wipe out autumn’s favourite kids’ harvest by 2035.

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Many trees faced being cut down by owners after their green leaves were left shrivelled and brown by a larvae which grows in eggs laid inside the leaf by the leaf miner moth. Experts say the grubs also reduce trees’ conker harvest.

But great sets, blue tits, other birds and creepy crawlies have come to the rescue and have munched through billions more grubs inside leaves this year – leaving conker tree leaves much greener and the trees healthier. Forestry experts say the cold late spring also helped kill off the leaf worms.

Great sets, blue tits and other birds are common in gardens across the UK. According to the RSPB, the blue tit birds travel in packs to help source food for their young. They seemed to have targeted the worms in the trees due to their small size, which allowed them to access insects other birds can’t reach.

World Conker Championships chiefs, who held their annual tournament on Oct 8 in Southwick, Northants, said: “Hurrah! It looks the chestnut tree – which Britain loves – will be saved, so we give thanks to the geat tits and other birds.

“It means the game of conkers can carry on for generations. This is the biggest news for years for treelovers. We are rejoicing.”

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The World Conker Championship is thought to have started in Ashton, Northamptonshire in 1965. The wooded area is surrounded by horse chestnut trees, which made the access to the seeds plentiful.

Experts say leaf miner larvae also make chestnut trees more likely to be killed off by bleeding canker disease. The disease causes great rifts in the tree's trunks and branches which leaks a dark, thick fluid.

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