As usual, my first sighting of a Japanese beetle — on June 24 this year — coincided with the ripening of my raspberries, one of their favorite foods. Iowa has coped with this voracious invasive species since it was first recorded in the state in 1994, but at least in my backyard, 2021 is proving […]
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Tag: Japanese beetles
Controlling Japanese beetles during annu...
Like clockwork, the bane of many gardeners has made its annual comeback. Japanese beetles are known to devour hundreds of varieties of plants, turning leaves into skeletal “lace,” and raspberries, which are just about to ripen in Eastern Iowa, are among their favorites. Rather than use synthetic chemicals to control the ravenous beetles, alternatives include […]
Iowa’s record low winter temperatures no
(UPDATE: A short-lived reprieve; first two Japanese beetles of the season spotted on our raspberry bushes on June 26.) The first Japanese beetles of the season are typically spotted around this time in east-central Iowa, but so far there appear to be no signs of the voracious invaders, at least in our Cedar Rapids gardens. […]
Battling the return of the Japanese beet...
Hopes for a late appearance of the Japanese beetle were dashed when I saw the first cluster of the voracious pests on June 22, a few days to more than a week earlier than I’ve spotted them in the past. The excruciatingly late winter weather in Iowa, which dragged well into April, was followed by […]
Return of the Japanese beetles and how t...
It’s like clockwork: my raspberries finally ripen and the Japanese beetles return. The beetles are known to devour hundreds of varieties of plants, turning leaves into skeletal “lace,” and raspberries – including the actual berries – appear to be among their favorites. Related: Japanese beetle watch begins I’ve tried picking the beetles off individually and […]
Japanese beetle watch begins
UPDATE (June 25, 2016) One day after posting this, I’ve seen the first Japanese beetles of the season. And of course, they’re after my raspberries! June 24, 2016 – It seems to be an especially bountiful season for raspberries, perhaps because of plentiful and timely rains in Iowa. But for the past decade or so, […]
Japanese beetle watch ends in Cedar Rapi...
They’re heeere… As much as I held out hope that the Japanese beetle population had been wiped out by an unusually fortuitous twist of fate, my watch for the invasive insect ended today with the discovery of several beetles on my raspberry bushes. If you have rose bushes, grapes, hollyhock, linden trees, pin oak, willows […]
Pre-Japanese beetle, a berry good year
I know this won’t last long. My raspberry bushes are heaving with berries, but it’s only a matter of time before my sworn enemy, the Japanese beetle, emerges to create havoc. Generally, there are several days between the time the berries start to ripen and when I spot the first foreign invader.
Viticulture: Japanese beetles and many, ...
CEDAR RAPIDS – Between the various vineyard diseases, voracious bugs, birds and other predators, I’m amazed that any grape can survive to maturity. At our most recent viticulture class at Kirkwood Community College, we learned about fungal diseases of grapevines, such as anthracnose or