The garden is looking lovely. I spotted some interesting insects while I was clearing vetch from a few of the irises (more on that in a sec). The past few days have been quite rainy, as a result we have many blooms in the irises, on the cotoneasters, and a fern that sprung up in one of the bushes.
This is probably a Himmelman's Plume moth. This is an indication of caterpillars in the garden. I do not think we need to worry about this particular bug as it supposedly feeds on berry plants (see note 1). A few pests for irises we should be on the lookout for include mites, aphids, and iris borer caterpillars (which are 1.5 inches long with brown heads and pink bodies) (see note 2). Using eggshell dust around the base of the plant should help ward off the caterpillars (see note 3). Prevention is key to ward off any pest. Always remove plant debris which would encourage many pests to lay eggs.
1 Corinthians 3:7
Notes:
1. insectidentification.org (2019)
2. Kelsey, A. (n.d.) Insect Pests that eat Irises.
3. White, C. (2020) How to Get Rid of Iris Borers. Dengarden.com.
you are doing a great job....thankful for the guys that gave you rock :)
ReplyDelete