That was a close guess--but no cigar. We were admiring a beetle, and beetles have been made into those oddities called scarabs. But this not the dung beetle of ancient fame.And, alas, as the rose bushes became a sort of free lunch for these creatures, our admiring glances turned to indignation.
"They are copulating on "Abraham Darby'!" I announced a few days later. Then with horror, "They are eating 'Abraham Darby'!!!"
That glorious creature was a Japanese beatle. It's photo does not do it justice, not does its beauty give any indication of the havoc it can cause.Soon I was resigned to spending a good portion of each day touring the roses with a coffee can of slightly soapy water in hand, shaking each of those lovely pests into an ignominious death by drowning.
Now aware of pests and the problems they cause, I declared war on the caterpillars who seemed to be even hungrier than the beetles. Ruthlessly I disposed of every one I could find. Still, holes appeared on most of my foliage, so I resorted to bacillus thuringus spray to eliminate these critters from my garden.
I spent the rest of the summer wondering why there were no butterflies. And, I blush to admit that the sight of a starved and shrunken caterpillar body lying on an arbor post made me feel sad, and a bit guilty. Quick drowning is one thing--a slow and painful death by starvation another. I soon learned to plant some things especially for the more desirable caterpillars to lunch on. Parsley, Asclepias tuberosa (butterfly weed) and others became garden necessities; the caterpillars munched on their preferred fare and ate less of
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