What is eating the nasturtium flowers this week?
I noticed some holes were developing in the flower petals on Saturday.
A few of the flowers were covered with leaf or flea beetles. They are small, shiny black beetles with enlarged back legs.
The beetles seemed to have arrived from nowhere. When I went to check them again today, they were all gone. I wasn’t too concerned anyway because the nasturtiums had already produced a lot of seeds and they are getting to the end of their season. In a few weeks the heat will cause the plants to collapse and I’ll pull them out.
These might be the same kind of beetles that are commonly found feeding on Mexican evening primroses here. I know there are some flowering in the neighborhood.
I’ll have to check them.
Lovely detail on your leaf beetles. I have the worst time photographing them, with their shiny backs reflecting the light oddly (not to mention the tiny size). Your comment about it soon being too hot for the nasturtiums made me smile, as it snowed here in NJ yesterday.
Sara,
Yes, I agree there is something about leaf beetles that makes them very difficult to photograph.
Snow? Yikes!