Tangled Branches: Cultivated
happenings in and around my zone 6b gardens in northern Virginia and in central Virginia
Monday, July 21, 2008
Metallic Beetles - NOT Japanese!
I was wearily flicking Japanese Beetles into a jar of soapy water this weekend. They're thick on everything now, including basil! I don't remember having this much trouble with them on basil. Other favorites this year are the Cupheas and 'Red Shield' Hibiscus, which was just starting to look good. Drat. To me, the beauty of the Japanese beetles is what's disturbing. I brush them into a jug of soapy water, where they suffocate, but even in death their carapaces are exquisitely rainbow-colored. To be so beautiful and deadly, to be so beautiful and leave beauty slaughtered in your wake...
This beetle might be mistaken for one of the dreaded JBs if you're not paying close attention. It's about the same size, but with a slightly more elongated shape and waaaaay shinier and prettier.
And it only eats Dogbane, hence its name - the Dogbane Beetle (Chrysochus auratus). Sources differ on whether it eats Milkweed as well, but I found it on Dogbane and it wasn't eating anything.
Another metallic beetle that's been hanging around is the Green June Beetle. I don't like this one as much. For one thing, it's huge - about an inch long and almost as broad. For another, it buzzes around me while I'm working in the garden. And for another, the larvae are said to be destructive root feeders (like the JB grubs). Grudgingly, I find its dull metallic sheen somewhat attractive.
But I refuse to say anything nice about Japanese Beetles. I'll let Diane Ackerman say it instead.
Diane Ackerman, Cultivating Delight
