Something is eating the heck out of one of my flowers. No such problem in previous years. It looks similar to a lightning bug-- about the same size, but doesn't have that coloration. Any ideas? There are many of them and they have destroyed all foliage in two days.
These are blister beetles (Coleoptera: Meloidae); apparently margined blister beetles, Epicauta pestifera - see http://tinyurl.com/lzmxfn
Although these beetles can be serious garden pests, their larvae feed on the egg masses of grasshoppers - sort of a Jekyll and Hyde insect...
Thanks very much. This indeed seems to be the culprit. When I went out with some pesticide right after posting this I found a snake was gobbling them up. Maybe I should leave Mother Nature alone!
Wow - Could you get a photo of the snake? I would be very interested in seeing what species it might be.
My Grandmother used to control these beetles by sprinkling flour on them. (she kept an old jar with holes in the lid just for this purpose) The flour gummed up their legs and they'd fall off the plants. This was years before anyone in west KY even heard the word 'organic.' It worked, was readily available, and was a cheap fix. All of which appealed to my frugal grandmother. (I'd like to see the snake too)
The snake was dark. I didn't get a good look at it but my guess is that it was a rat snake like this one. I am also estimating it was about 4 'long-- somewhat smaller than most I have seen around here.
The snake certainly looks like a black rat snake, but I've never heard of one eating blister beetles before!
