Tangled Branches: Cultivated
happenings in and around my zone 6b gardens in northern Virginia and in central Virginia
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Butterflies 1 Beetles 3
Doesn't it look like this fritillary is getting ready to do battle? If only.
I planted a Buddleia 'Attraction' next to the deck at the country house in hopes of attracting the hummingbirds we've been seeing. My first customer was a Japanese Beetle. Then another and another and another and.... I think the final score on Saturday was Hummingbirds 0, Butterflies 2, Japanese Beetles 16.
I don't understand where the beetles are coming from. The area directly around the house was a barren construction site until late last September. Around that is woods, then a field, then the neighbors' suburban-style yard. But that yard is far away, and they're not growing much in the way of yummy Japanese Beetle treats. I always think of Japanese Beetles as a pest of new suburban lawns and gardens; I really was not expecting to see any there.
At the old northern Virginia homestead, they've been very scarce so far this year. I'm sure I'll be punished for saying this, but so far all the flowers that are usually chewed to nothing are looking whole and healthy.
Labels: butterflies, insects
11 Comments:
Ah, those Japanese beetles are resourceful little critters. At least you had some butterflies and the blooms are looking great!! Soon the birds will come too...
Love your blog!
My JB were late too but now they are attacking with quadruple force. The old-fashioned roses are almost gone and now they are going after the rest of the garden.
Kate: The hummingbirds have surprised me by sipping at the Cuphea I planted in front of the house. It's a very short plant, and I didn't think the birds would hover that close to the ground. I usually have it in a container, but decided to plant these in the ground. The beetles seem less numerous this weekend - maybe I got most of them last weekend.
Anon: Thanks for the compliment! The JBs are one of the reasons I gave up on roses :-(
The beetles here seem to come in waves - a couple of years ago they were really thick. I'm hoping this is an off-year.
Let's hipe that those Japanese beetles stay the heck away from the homestead! I'm really glad that over here there are no Japanese beetles.
Yolanda Elizabet: So far, so good at the homestead. The beetles have been very manageable up to now. Keep hoping.
The fritillary is so eye catching I missed the Japanese beetles on the first look. We have had very few beetles this year. Last year they were swarming all over the linden tree blossoms. I only saw a few yesterday on our crape myrtle which they find irresistible. I tried a new homemade concoction of tea tree oil, neem, water and a bit of detergent to keep the oils in suspension. Blasted the beetles but it didn't faze them.
When I was a kid, an elderly woman up the street had some capucin monkeys in an outdoor cage. I saw one catch a Japanese beetle which it promptly ate with apparent great delight, crunching the shell and swallowing everything. Mrs. Bromley told us that that was a favorite treat so from then on we would collect beetles to hand to the monkeys. It was fascinating for a kid to see how dexterous their hands were as they'd grab the proffered bug. Where are the monkeys now.
Ki: I'm really surprised at how few JBs I'm seeing here in northern Virginia, so far. In recent years they've been partial to the passion vines, the Rose-of-Sharon, and the cupheas, but there's very little damage this year. I had a theory that fish emulsion would keep them away because the odor would confuse them, but I don't have enough beetles to test the theory this year.
Somewhere I read that guinea fowl will take care of them, but it would be so much more cool to feed them to monkeys. ;) But I don't think my spouse would put up with monkeys or guinea fowl.
Seriously, though, I think that maybe, just possibly, the wild birds are eating them this year. Last year I saw a cardinal eat just one, but this year several types of birds are hanging around the Rose-of-Sharon and the passion vines watchfully. And I'm seeing more house finches this year than in recent years. So....maybe?
Love the butterfly photos, how do you get them to sit still.......:).
IGW: Thanks for stopping by! When the butterflies are on nectar plants, they seem so absorbed in their work that they don't mind me hovering over them with the camera.
I hope we never get these Japanese beetles out west. I've heard horror stories.
Chuck: All the horror stories are true. BUT, this year the beetles are really not too bad. It could be a lot worse.
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