June Bugs (was Japanese beetles...)
Ruthann Schmidt
Excerpts from netnews.rec.gardens: 10-Jul-95 Re: Are japanese beetles
al.. by Steve Rehr...@apollo.hp
>What they *do* sound very much like, at least on appearances, is
>a beetle I haven't yet been able to name, but which has at times
>been a major scourge in my garden; far worse than J. beetles for
>damage. These unnamed nasties were mostly nocturnal, and had a
>particularly strong love in my garden for carrot tops, basil (wahh!),
>pepper foliage, sage and mums (flower and foliage). These plants
>they'd literally eat to the ground in a couple of nights, if allowed.
>They typically seemed to spend their days shallowly buried in the
>mulch or soil at the base of their flora victims. Major bummer.
Well, Steve, you have my sympathy. They are June bugs (don't have the
Latin name handy, someone else called them Asiatic beetles), & they are
my worst garden enemy. I know they didn't ask to be born, & are only
trying to live, but they *trash* my basil. I have to cover the plants
with a lightweight insect barrier every night, but the ones that have
burrowed into the ground next to the plants aren't detered by a physical
barrier. They only get done in if they get caught in the material while
moving around underneath it. I squish 'em the next morning. So far, I've
spent at least $100 on beneficial nematodes in an attempt to kill the
grub, & will apply more this fall. At first I thought I saw a decline in
the population compared to last summer, but now I'm not so sure.
They have started munching on my Swiss chard & they even eat from my
catnip plants. (Hey! That's for the cats!)
What kills me is that many garden books say June bugs don't cause much
harm in the adult stage. HA! Last night it was raining in the early
evening so I didn't cover my plants until nearly 11pm. Geez, those brats
had chewed the hell out of several plants by then. I went on a squishing
rampage, but I'll never get ahead.
At least Rodale's Handbook of Organic Disease & Pest Control (something
like that) admits that adult June bugs cause foilage damage. I've also
read (not sure which pest book) that milky spore disease is not
effective against these beetle grub. (Is it even possible to get milky
spore these days anyway?) I'm not sure the beneficial nematodes have
even helped, & that stuff is such a pain to apply to a large yard, but
I'll keep trying. Some of my neighbors probably use diazanon to control
grub, while other neighbors use nothing so controlling grub in my yard
doensn't keep the "neighbor's" beetles from coming over for dinner.
The Rodale book said that some June bugs spend 3 seasons in the ground
as larvae before becoming adults in the 4th year. I found that
interesting (should have majored in bugs not rocks), but I still detest
them. I guess I feel the same way about June bugs as many others feel
about slugs.
Ruth Ann Schmidt
Zone 5
New Kensington, PA
Steve Rehrauer
>In a discussion about Japanese beetles...
>
>Excerpts from netnews.rec.gardens: 10-Jul-95 Re: Are japanese beetles
>al.. by Steve Rehr...@apollo.hp
>>What they *do* sound very much like, at least on appearances, is
>>a beetle I haven't yet been able to name, but which has at times
>>been a major scourge in my garden; far worse than J. beetles for
>>damage. These unnamed nasties were mostly nocturnal, and had a
>>particularly strong love in my garden for carrot tops, basil (wahh!),
>>pepper foliage, sage and mums (flower and foliage). These plants
>>they'd literally eat to the ground in a couple of nights, if allowed.
>>They typically seemed to spend their days shallowly buried in the
>>mulch or soil at the base of their flora victims. Major bummer.
>
>Well, Steve, you have my sympathy. They are June bugs (don't have the
>Latin name handy, someone else called them Asiatic beetles), & they are
>my worst garden enemy. I know they didn't ask to be born, & are only
>trying to live, but they *trash* my basil.
Say no more; their rights stop where our basil begins. :-) Actually,
I've always given the "June bugs" name to a much, much larger brown
beetle. About 1" in length, darker brown, nocturnal? "My" "June bugs"
really don't seem to cause any appreciable damage, and what they might
do is paid for by the free entertainment they provide our cats at night,
as they bumble along the window screens trying to get in. :-/
Asiatic beetles, if that's what our mutual enemies are, have no
redeeming qualities that I can see. None.
> I have to cover the plants
>with a lightweight insect barrier every night, but the ones that have
>burrowed into the ground next to the plants aren't detered by a physical
>barrier. They only get done in if they get caught in the material while
>moving around underneath it. I squish 'em the next morning. So far, I've
>spent at least $100 on beneficial nematodes in an attempt to kill the
>grub, & will apply more this fall.
I haven't tried a barrier yet (something like Remay, I assume?), but
probably will. (I've given up raising basil outdoors, and now grow
it on a sunny windowsill.)
--
All software is bug-free, assuming | Steve rehr...@apollo.hp.com
sufficiently clever definitions of | Massachusetts Language Lab
"feature" and "expected behaviour". | USDA Zone 5, more or less
Susan Sanders
rehr...@apollo.hp.com writes:
>beetle. About 1" in length, darker brown, nocturnal? "My" "June bugs"
>really don't seem to cause any appreciable damage, and what they might
>do is paid for by the free entertainment they provide our cats at night,
>as they bumble along the window screens trying to get in. :-/
Yep, this is what I call June bugs too. I had a cat that just *loved* to
catch one and hold it, vibrating, in her mouth. Yuck!!
-Sue Sanders
george howie
hear them bounce off your windshield like a bullet. Not the same as an
Asiatic beetle however.