Sunday, July 22, 2012

Rosemary beetle


Why did natural selection result in some very destructive, if very attractive insects surviving with the sole intention in life to eat my plants. In the brief respite between rain showers, I spotted these lil' critters all over my lavender bed. Oh they're very pretty – shiny like an oil droplet – but in high numbers they're not good. I've yet to discover who their natural predator is, and why those lovely colours evolve
ved to be on their wingcase. It must either be camouflage or a warning to potential predators. Anyway, despite them not being particularly welcome on my lovely flowering lavender, I don't use chemical sprays and so figured that as long as there weren't too many of them, then I could live with them. So, I took a few photos and then...how shall we put this?...streamlined the population numbers. :)





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8 comments:

  1. Sue GarrettJuly 22, 2012 at 10:38 AM

    I hope this is as near as I get to them. It seems every plant has some sort of beetle that attacks it. We're suffering from our firts lily beetle problem. Another pretty pest!!

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    1. suburban veg gardenerJuly 28, 2012 at 9:08 AM

      The lavender has been in 4 years but this is the first time I've seen rosemary beetles on them. Either they've just arrived or I simply haven't noticed them before. I'm trying to find out what their predators are (if any) to see if I can encourage them to pay a visit!

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  2. Liz - Suburban TomatoJuly 23, 2012 at 12:11 PM

    They are pretty - they look a bit like what we call Christmas beetles here, similarly metallic colours. Christmas beetles are far less destructive though.

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    1. suburban veg gardenerJuly 30, 2012 at 9:22 AM

      Thankfully they don't seem to have affected my shrubs too much. Though there's always next year!

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  3. MalarJuly 24, 2012 at 12:56 AM

    Are those bettles? I hope they don't do much damage to your lavender! Oh how I wish to have lavender in my garden! ;)

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    1. suburban veg gardenerJuly 30, 2012 at 9:24 AM

      I love lavender - I've a whole raised bed of it at the front of my house and it's simply covered in bees this time of year. And the scent is just wonderful

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  4. MalarJuly 24, 2012 at 2:40 AM

    Oh yes, I have give you an award. Please feel free to visit my blog to pick them! ;)

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  5. suburban veg gardenerJuly 30, 2012 at 9:25 AM

    Thanks for the award Malar - much appreciated! I will do a nominating post myself shortly to pass it on.

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