Isn’t it striking how the bronze-colored blow fly matches the nasturtium?
Doesn’t it look like fine jewelry?
Too bad the fly’s lifestyle doesn’t match its appearance.
Tag: nasturtiums
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.
The mystery seeds from last week were…
Nasturtium seeds (Genus Tropaeolum)!
These colorful plants were originally from South America, but are now grown worldwide.
Some people use nasturtium flowers in salads (make sure to use organically-grown). They have a spicy flavor.
When looking up information on nasturtiums, I found some websites with recipes for pickling the seeds. Does anyone know if this is real?
For more information, see Roberta Gibson Writes.