Be afraid....
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Be very afraid...
These are Rosemary Beetles, they may look dashing in their stripey, metallic suits amongst the flower & foliage of summer (I use the word 'summer' loosely here) but catch one on your lavender or rosemary & they'll do this...
Then this...
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According to the RHS they are a native of southern Europe but have become a pest here in ol' Blighty since the 1990s. They're about the size of a ladybird, look beautiful but boy are they a menace.
Mr TG & I had never seen them before until about 3 weeks ago, now we seem to be plagued by the critters. We have one rosemary & several lavender plants scattered about the Tidy Garden but they seem to be concentrating on just 2 plants. Only the other day Mr TG found 25 on one plant alone during one of his 'snail-bashing' rounds. You can use insecticides but have resorted to picking them off as we don't want to harm the good bugs.
Disposal of these beetles is def' a job for the boys, beetles DON'T crush neatly under 'ones' dainty trotters!
6 comments:
eugh!!
I have never heard of these beetles or seen them thank goodness. How can something so small do so much damage.
What's this about snail-bashing ? Poor little creatures, wouldn't harm a fly.
I don't have the Rosemary beetle because I can't grow lavender or rosemary. My dog won't let me.
It's always the cute, harmless looking ones that are trouble! I guess they just like dining in style..
I have a policy on living things: kill first, investigate later.
Those things would have been dead long before I knew what they were!
Any pest that bothers the flowers, herbs, etc. becomes "public enemy number one!" I say destroy! Wha ha ha (that's my super hero laugh). :-)
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