Gardeners’ Forum: “bug that is eating all the lupins in our area”
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Posted by Catherine Foster on Monday, June 29, 2009 5:29 PM ADTIf anyone else is having the same problem please let me know. I have pics of the bugs and have no idea what they are. contact me and I will share the photos. katt74@xplornet.com, thanks!
re: bug that is eating all the lupins in our area
Posted by Melissa on Tuesday, June 30, 2009 8:37 AM ADTWhere are you? Are the bugs big and black almost like a beetle? I am on PEI and noticed these strange critters ate all of the blooms off of my neighbours lupins. They don't look like a native species to me which is a bit worrisome.
re: bug that is eating all the lupins in our area
Posted by Catherine Foster on Tuesday, June 30, 2009 8:58 AM ADTyes they are big black beetle like bugs and they will completely clean the flowers off the lupin. problem is when they do that it does not allow them to seed themsleves. So we loose all the lupins. Pretty flower! I live near Florenceville, NB. send me your email and I will send you a photo for compairision, if you like
re: bug that is eating all the lupins in our area
Posted by Barb Dowling on Tuesday, June 30, 2009 11:21 AM ADTI also had them at our cottage in Desable - What I did was cut down the grouping of lupins wrapped them in newspaper and burnt them in our fire pit. They were not on any other flowers-
re: bug that is eating all the lupins in our area
Posted by Vanessa on Tuesday, June 30, 2009 11:42 AM ADTHi everyone, I've posted a photo sent in by one of you showing what the bug looks like. You'll find it by clicking on Learn at the top of the page, then on Gardening Photos.
re: bug that is eating all the lupins in our area
Posted by Vanessa on Tuesday, June 30, 2009 11:59 AM ADTHi, it's me again! We've identified this beast as a Blister Beetle. They love lupins in particular but can feed on other plants. They tend to attack one plant and never mind plants right next to it. I think Barb has the right idea by cutting down the entire plant and burning it! Please be cautious and use rubber gloves if you plan to hand-pick these guys. The exude a chemical which can blistering. That's how they get their name.
re: bug that is eating all the lupins in our area
Posted by Catherine Foster on Tuesday, June 30, 2009 4:34 PM ADTthanks so much for all your information. Sure hope I can contain these nasty critters. I do love the beauty of lupins and many other flowers on my property and in my small community. Again Thanks!
re: bug that is eating all the lupins in our area
Posted by Colin on Thursday, July 2, 2009 12:30 AM ADTHi there, I had this problem about a month ago too. I live in Kamloops, BC, and the beetles attacked all of a sudden, no sign of them Saturday night, then Sunday morning, they were all over the lupins. I also had no idea what they were, but thanks to google, also ID'd them as blister beetles. I collected some in soapy water, took them to the local nursery, and they also hadn't heard of them or seen them before. Apparently, they "dine and dash", though, so maybe were migrating, and happened to find my lupins. In any case, they're gone now (only stuck around for that one Sunday), and the lupins have started to flower again, although the cantharidin damaged some of the leaves. Hope that's the last I see of them!
re: bug that is eating all the lupins in our area
Posted by lorraine on Friday, July 3, 2009 10:14 AM ADTCould these same bugs like my delphinum? Didn`t get a chance to bloom. Yesterday, tall spike, today buds eaten. It was also full of earwigs. I`m torn about earwigs, I read where they do not eat plants but capture ants by their pinchers. It`s a headscratcher.
re: bug that is eating all the lupins in our area
Posted by Melissa on Friday, July 3, 2009 2:59 PM ADTMore likely that it was the earwigs. Sounds like it happened overnight and that is when the earwigs do their eating. The blister beetles seem to eat during the light of day so you would have seen them. It's strange thought that they would strip a delphinium bloom, haven't heard of that one before. My earwigs eat pansies, so I actually plant a few pansies around my flower beds so they will leave everyhting else alone. It seems to work.
re: bug that is eating all the lupins in our area
Posted by lorraine on Saturday, July 4, 2009 1:53 PM ADTSitting at my PC doing search on blister beetle. Found out they find food by hitching rides on bees. Bee finds flower to polinate and beetle leaves bee to eat flower. How brilliant!
re: bug that is eating all the lupins in our area
Posted by Moira on Monday, July 13, 2009 8:53 PM ADTI suspect that earwigs have stripped my delphiniums too to the last 3 measly leaves. I hope the plants regrow next year. I've cleaned the surrounding area but may not have enough plant left to get new growth with all this rain. My lupins were attacked this year by aphids. Sigh Why do I love gardening so much?
re: bug that is eating all the lupins in our area
Posted by Helena on Saturday, August 15, 2009 3:45 PM ADTInteresting reading! I have problems with my lupin as well, ít looks like it's been eaten from left to right literally!I cut most of it back today and inside I found earwings and some black small things like lice?!?!?The stems are nearly rotten! But I guess the bigger type of greenflies has been eating the leaves of my lupin? Ah, it was so lovely and big earlier this summer and now...there is hardly anything left!I have sprayed it with chemicals so will just wait and see how it goes.
re: bug that is eating all the lupins in our area
Posted by Jo Hatchard on Sunday, June 13, 2010 6:23 PM ADTIsprayed the beetles with a mixture of ammonia, water and dishwashing soap and it killed them.
re: bug that is eating all the lupins in our area
Posted by Marlene on Thursday, June 17, 2010 1:16 PM ADTWe have them too. The biggest problem I see is that they appear to be "mating". Which probably means there will be many more. My raspberries are next to the Lupins. I hope this doesn't mean real trouble. Don't want to spray the flowers because of the bees, but I need to protect the berries. What say you??
re: bug that is eating all the lupins in our area
Posted by Kathy on Wednesday, August 31, 2011 8:05 PM ADTI'm not sure if it is a bug since I really didn't notice until it was to late and the lupines were stripped and dying-and I never really looked for a beetle just those small bugs that leave webs-didn't have any-do deer by chance eat the flowers off the lupine?
