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Carnivorous Plants and Hordes of Japanese Beetles
Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2015 12:33 am
by Kbud
Hi everyone!
Around this time of year in upstate NY, the population of the invasive Japanese beetle explodes! They destroy leaves and can really harm a lot of the plants we have growing naturally around here. Thus, it was with great delight that I fed two of them to my Sarracenia purpurea today. The quickly drowned, the plant has food, and my raspberry bush is safe. I chose the purpurea because I knew it would kill the beetles relatively quickly, without them chewing through the leaf. So far so good!
Have any of you guys ever fed the little pests to your plants? How did the plants respond? Were they digested?
Surely I can't be the only one looking at the beetles as plant food!
Re: Carnivorous Plants and Hordes of Japanese Beetles
Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2015 1:06 am
by Jellybean1
My house is infested with spiders,common house spiders..I gave one of my flytraps one spider and they seemed to love it!It is currently being digested and its still green.
Re: Carnivorous Plants and Hordes of Japanese Beetles
Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2015 1:14 am
by Dionae
Ive never fed them to my CPs but we're having our annual infestation also so i wouldnt be surprised if a few are in my pitchers. I hate them! Theyre eating my veggies, roses and dahlias.
Re: Carnivorous Plants and Hordes of Japanese Beetles
Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2015 1:20 am
by Jellybean1
Netting will always be by your side
Re: Carnivorous Plants and Hordes of Japanese Beetles
Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2015 1:28 am
by Dionae
Yup...especially if it comes in a spray bottle and its nickname is spectracide.
Re: Carnivorous Plants and Hordes of Japanese Beetles
Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2015 3:06 am
by SerMuncherIV
My S. purpurea always fill up with Japanese beetles this time of year, not that I make sure of that or anything, hehe...
I avoid feeding my upright Sarracenia the stupid things because they're so fat and they clog the pitchers, and their exoskeletons are too hard for the VFTs and all my large Drosera except the D. dichotoma 'Giant' - that thing is a monster, I swear.
Re: Carnivorous Plants and Hordes of Japanese Beetles
Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2015 8:56 pm
by Kbud
Japanese beetles are freaking tanks in the insect world.
Re: Carnivorous Plants and Hordes of Japanese Beetles
Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2015 12:43 am
by Jellybean1
I haven't even seen one yet,I guess they fill up your plants
Re: Carnivorous Plants and Hordes of Japanese Beetles
Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2015 3:24 pm
by sbrooks
They're very aggressive little beasts; I picked one up by the leg with some tweezers in an attempt to feed a DC XL, and the little bugger broke loose, circled around, and headed straight for my face. I'm surprised that they don't chew through the pitchers; I though that they had fairly strong mandibles.
Re: Carnivorous Plants and Hordes of Japanese Beetles
Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2015 3:51 pm
by Cory
Japanese beetles are horrible here as well. I have several dwarf trees on my property and if I don't spray with insecticide they will leave the trees completely without leaves .
Re: Carnivorous Plants and Hordes of Japanese Beetles
Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2015 4:44 pm
by katya_dog1
Dionae wrote:Yup...especially if it comes in a spray bottle and its nickname is spectracide.
That's it. Hate Japanese beetles. They eat everything desirable.
I kill them every chance I get.
Re: Carnivorous Plants and Hordes of Japanese Beetles
Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2015 12:54 pm
by yellowjacket7
Kbud wrote:
Surely I can't be the only one looking at the beetles as plant food!
The guy sure looks like plant food to me! The guy sure looks like plant food to me!
...
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I avoid feeding my upright Sarracenia the stupid things because they're so fat and they clog the pitchers, and their exoskeletons are too hard for the VFTs and all my large Drosera except the D. dichotoma 'Giant' - that thing is a monster, I swear.