Shhh, don't disturb them

This is my hibiscus that is really blooming great!

Now who is not to be disturbed? One of the spent blooms is housing a slew of Japanese Beetles. I assume the pheromones are keeping them there so they are not roaming the plant.
I decided to just leave them be and enjoy my blooms for now.

beautiful Windy. Sure hope they don't attack you whole plant

I was amazed they were all so stuck in that one flower. Lucky me! LOL
They are so destructive but I can't do too much because of the beneficial insects so close to them.

Windy, a jar of soapy water will do them in. This time of year, I keep a qt. jar of the soapy water in the garden to take care of such critters. They don't swim long. lol
Jean

won't that do in the bennies as well?

What good will the bennies do if they dont have a plant to live on :0)) Use a plastric bag and put it over where the varmint are and take them of the plant.
Janett

I am just going to leave them. If I move them, the pheronomes will follow them and they will be all over the plant.
What Jean is suggesting is to drown the beetles, which wouldn't harm the beneficial insects. You pick them off with gloves on if you are squeemish and drop them into the soap. Murphy's oil soap is what I would use if I did. It smells good and the stuff that drips on the plant is harmless. The soap is to cut the friction so they sink and not swim out.

I got what she meant, what I did say is if you leave them...........when they have munched on that flower AND matet you will have them all over anyway. Suddenly you are out of plants in the garden.
Remeber JB is not nativ to US.

Yep, that's what I meant Windy, no harm to the beneficials at all. Works for me and is alot easier than trying to squish them under foot. Of course, I keep a lid on the jar when I'm not beetle picking so the beneficials don't join in.
Jean

I read that black birds (starlings) eat them, but I haven't seen any of those in this area. We used to have them all over the place when I lived in Ilinois.
It is really a losing battle with the JP's as they are very numerous and in the apple trees, too high to reach and in my tall shrubs too high to reach. I did use a systemic insecticide for chewing insects earlier this spring. It is only supposed to kill the bugs that chew. Maybe that will kill the ones I can't reach. I thought about getting some milky spore for the lawn also.
I don't eat the apples as it is just an ornamental type. I wonder if the systemic mixture poisons the apples also. I didn't use the poison on the apple tree, just the maples, and other ornamental trees I have.