Thought I would share this - not a great photo, but I am enjoying bringing in the dahlias.
Kelgai Anne, Clearview Debby, Jax, Woodland's Merinda & Summer Nights
Name: Connie Winlock, WA (Zone 8a) Need has nothing to do with it.
OH, I do not have JBs then. What I'm seeing is a yellowish green beetle with black spots and one that looks like a lady bug but is more brownish with black spots.
The green one sounds like a cucumber beetle. Some have stripes instead of dots. There is an Asian ladybug that is more brown-orange with the black dots. Can't remember the exact name. Around here, I normally only see those in the fall. They will bite.
Great blooms, Geof! I especially like Sorbet and Hilltop Emily.
My plants are looking a little better but are still slow to bud. I have one big white bloom that the JB's are infatuated with. I've only found a dozen or so beetles so far and all but a couple have been on this one bloom. It's really been perforated. I hope their little orgies are over before the plants get it in gear and really start blooming.
Their orgies and food frenzies usually are over before the dahlias really strut their stuff. The JB's, deer, rabbits, skunks and squirrels leave us appreciating the dahlias so much!
A few blooms today... I planted all of mine and meant to tag them as I planted them. Well, I forgot so your guess is as good as mine on a name! They're not growing very tall, but at least I'm getting some blooms...
When all is said and done, there’s more said than done.
JBs are hitting my dahlias so bad that today I cut off all blooms and any bud that I thought would bloom in the next three weeks. That was this morning and now the JBs have left the plants alone. Take that beetles!!!
JB season here should be over somewhere between August 13-20
I have had worse JB damage than ever before - partly because I have more blooming this time of year, but there do seem to be more of them. Its funny how color sensitive they seem to be. Whites and light purple/lavenders are goners, but the dark reds and even some of the deep yellows are damage free.
The JBs at our house have no color preference, just anything with petals. My poor crape myrtles literally can't even bloom because the JBs eat the petals too fast. It's unreal how bad they are this year.
Removing all blooms and buds was what I did with roses for many years and the JB's went elsewhere for their "fun". Only two (that I saw) this year. Both earwigs and JB's seem to like the white or pale blooms over anything more colorful, even with roses.
Did someone say that JB's like the lighter colors?
I started to cut off these poor blooms this morning. But then decided to leave them as "sacrificial lambs" or decoys in hopes that the JB's will continue their assault on them and leave any nearby blooms alone. But I know that's just a pipe dream. LOL
I cut off quite a few this morning that looked like that. I have way more earwigs than japanese beetles. I cut several blooms that each had 4-6 earwigs hiding in them - disgusting !
But I am still getting some pretty nice blooms. Here are a few more new ones worth posting:
When I was removing a spent Penhill Yellow Queen an earwig escaped the dead bloom and ran up my arm. They are horrid, sneaky insects. Didn't know I could move so fast to brush it off my arm and cut it in two with my trust Zenport!
I haven't seen any earwigs since I dusted with the Diatomaceous Earth. I'm sure some are still around but I haven't noticed any. The JB invasion has started slow this year, same as last year. Later, they came on with a vengeance. If it doesn't rain in the next couple days, I need to start spraying a little with the Bayers Advanced Insect and Disease Control I bought last week. We've had a heat wave this past week with a few 90+ degree days and very high humidity. We had those same conditions about this time last year and it left some plants with a white powdery mildew that stayed on till fall. I hope I can stay ahead of that this year along with the beetles.
