Giving back to the bees

[Smart Red]

St. John's Wort sounds like a good trap plant then!

No, not a really good JB trap plant. It is just that my JB's like just about everything I have here except (go figure) Asian pear trees. A better JB trap plant might be Cottoneaster, Hibiscus, or even Mallow. Heck, like I said, the JB's eat just about everything I grow outside the garden. Inside the veggie garden? Not so much if I can keep them off the beans.

 

[so lucky]

Jap beetles another great import from some idiot! Along with Asian beetles.

We now have 2 garden areas for butterflies and bees. Trying to get courage to buy hive or 2.

me too

 

[Nyboy]

me too

Ditto!! worried about overwintering

 

[Smart Red]

Japanese Beetles were accidentally introduced to the U.S. and are considered a pest wherever they are found, but Asian (Lady Bird) Beetles were offered a quick and easy path to immigration and a permanent work visa.

Asian Beetles were deliberately brought into the country to eat aphids on some field crops. Not sure what all they were meant to protect, but I know the soybean and alfalfa farmers around here are happy to find them in the fields.

Nasty, nasty things to my mind -- and they seem to be doing better than our native Lady Bug varieties.

 

[catjac1975]

Comfrey is one of the most beautiful bee laden herbs I have. BUT WHAT AN INVASIVE NUISANCE!!!!!!!!!

 

[Lavender2]

Comfrey

Oregano, Garlic Chives, Nepeta, Lavender, Creeping thyme, bee balm, lemon balm ...
anything BUT COMFREY

 

[hoodat]

I spent years in Japan and never remember seeing a Japanese beetle there. Strange. The ladybugs we think of as native were actually brought in on purpose from England almost with the first Europeans to hit the shore. Watch out for those big Asian ladybugs. They're good in the garden but they have short tempers and can give you a nasty bite if you pick one up.

 

[digitS']

I stayed out of this thread because I thought Hoodat might say that this was the only good thing for Kailaan. No, he said it was the 2nd good thing about the plants!

I leave wild carrots to bloom, which probably means I will never be able to save my own carrot seed!

Absolutely, radish pods are delicious and better than roots! It just takes a little practice to know when to harvest the tender ones.

Steve
who calls Kailaan, "Guy Lon" because he had buddies by those names.

 

[Smart Red]

Watch out for those big Asian ladybugs. They're good in the garden but they have short tempers and can give you a nasty bite if you pick one up.

"THEY DO NOT BITE". That is the official word from the Wisconsin Ag. Department spokesperson. She was trying to convince my Master Gardeners' class that Asian Beetles were the good guys.

No, they do not bite or sting, but they are always looking for food. When they land on you, they take a tiny 'taste', find you are not tasty, and start walking about. Of course, by that time, I've hit them or brushed them away so they are likely to land for another 'taste'. They also stink when crushed, leave their staining poop on walls, clothing, curtains, everything they land on, and they swarm in the fall, getting into eyes, skin folds, and clothing to taste and stain some more before they nest in large groups -- inside houses if they can.

The only good thing I have to say about them is they were useful for eliminating aphids on my pond plants that were overwintering in my sun room. I picked up a dozen from my friend's old farmhouse in the middle of winter and let them free in the sunroom. Good for me, once they ate the aphids, they died. That's the way it should be.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The only good thing I have to say about them is they were useful for eliminating aphids on my pond plants that were overwintering in my sun room. I picked up a dozen from my friend's old farmhouse in the middle of winter and let them free in the sunroom. Good for me, once they ate the aphids, they died. That's the way it should be.

And my friend that takes Master Gardener classes calls me the ruthless one!

Good job Red. I like it.