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No matter what you call them "Bardi ","Bardee","Badee", or "Bardy" Grubs catch the fish and are generally considered GREAT bait by most freshwater fisher-people. A good number of Victorian, SA and NSW fisher-people will swear that bardi's are the BEST BAIT for catching Murray Cod (I will not get into that one).
If you ask these exact same fisher-people where bardis come from and what they are, you will get some very surprising responses.
Given the lack of information about bardi grubs (very little is known about their life cycle, reproduction, habitat etc) you need to ask yourself, Are Bardi Grubs really the best bait?
Many people do not know how, where or have time to catch their own bardis and are thus forced to buy them from a bait supplier. Bardi Grubs currently sell for approximately $2 for a small grub and up to $5 for a large grub. Business is booming!
Where do the Bardi Grubs in the bait shops come from?
Bardi Grubs are harvested from the wild, either from public land (with a permit) or private land (completely unregulated). There are no limits on the number that can be collected.
What impact will this have on the bardi grub population?
No one knows, with what limited information is available it is impossible to predict how such "commercial" harvesting will impact Bardi Grub populations in the future. If we look at almost any other commercial use of a natural resource we find that the natural resource suffers continuing degradation until the resource becomes "un-economical" for commercial use. If we take inland commercial fishing for native species as an example we can see that in a very short time commercial exploitation has damaged the populations of these species to the extent that these commercial fisheries no longer exist or are in rapid decline.
Other negative impacts of bardi grub collection:
Removal of large sections of top soil and leaving the site vulnerable to erosion,
Destroying the native flora,
Impacts on a wide range of fauna disturbed by soil removal,
Leaves the area looking unsightly and unstable to travel on,
Encourages the growth of weed species,
Reduces any chance of regeneration at the site,
Possibly makes the site unsuitable for future Bardi Grubs,
Impacts upon food-web, what relies on bardi grubs/moths for food? Birds, Mammals, Reptiles,
Bardi grubs play a role in shaping their environment, i.e. holes for other animals to live in, allow rapid water penetration to subsoil.
What can I do to help?
Don’t buy Bardi Grubs for bait (kinda obvious).
Report anyone illegally harvesting bardi grubs on public land (your local parks and wildlife is a good place to start). No collection is allowed on public land without a permit.
If you catch your own bardi grubs, limit your take, and limit the areas you collect your grubs, do your best to leave the area as you found it. If you are using Bardi Grubs for bait, make sure you use one of the commercial products designed to save/retain your bardi grub (Bait Mate and the Bardi Sock are 2 examples)
Biological Information:
Kindom: Animalia
Phylum: ARTHROPODA
Class: HEXAPODA
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Hepialidae
Genus
Species
There are two moths who’s larvae are commonly referred to as bardi grubs these are;
Trictena atripalpis (Walker, 1856)
Abantiades marcidus (Tindale)
The Caterpillars (Bardi Grubs) of these particular species live in silk lined tunnels in the ground where they feed on the roots of adjacent Australian native trees, eg:
- Belah ( Casuarina pauper, CASUARINACEAE ), and
- Red Gum ( Eucalyptus camaldulensis, MYRTACEAE )
The adults often emerge after rain (thus the name rain moths), typically in autumn, Adults are seen semi-commonly May to June in south-eastern states, Adults may be captured day and night with a powerful light trap at this time (early May approx 3rd to 20th seems best in Victoria as moths are often seen during this time without any special effort).
The wingspan of adults can reach 10 centimetres, adult females deposit large numbers of eggs, (over 40,000 being counted in one dissected female). It is thought that they are laid in flight. Eggs are cream coloured when laid and quickly turn dark brown/black.
Similar:
"Bargi" grub is more strictly the larva of the beetle Bardistus cibarius although Bardi is also used generally for the larvae of Cerambycid Beetles.
Farming:
Bardi grubs are not commercially farmed yet. Farming could be possible if one could catch a gravid female, and provide the larvae with an artificial environment and food medium.
Aquarium Monsters has successfully captured an injured gravid female are reared the larvae for approximately 2 weeks.
Extra Info
More information can be found at the following website.
http://www.usyd.edu.au/macleay/larvae/hepi/atripal.html
This article is based on opinion and facts.
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