Begonia Update...

[endlessrarities]

Thanks to the link posted by paulie123 , I've done some further research on vine weevils.  I've seen more pictures.  And yes, these insidious little beggars who are feasting on my begonias are indeed vine weevils. This doesn't really come as any great surprise.  I've seen notched leaves on my pieris for a while now, and I've been suspicious that vine weevils were behind it.

Funny, I thought they were supposed to be a problem in southern England.  They supposedly find it hard to overwinter in colder (!) climes

The joys of global warming indeed.... 

C'mon Jack Frost.  We need you!!

Comments

[gylfinir.livejournal.com]

They are indeed nasty. I had an infestation in my garden (and all over my jade plant, in my house - yuk!) and the only thing that controlled them was the use of nematodes. And you have to do something about them, I'm afriad, because they're insidious little buggers. They'll eat everything and frost, etc, won't kill them.

[roobarb.livejournal.com]

yes, another vote here for nematodes, they seem to be the only things that work and you have to do them twice I think, and all plants, not just those you think are infested

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

Yikes! I really wanted to avoid the nematodes - I'm concerned that there will be collateral damage amongst the innocents. You hear so many times of imported 'predators' laying waste to all sorts of indigenous beasties...

Getting them in the house sounds like a nightmare!

[gylfinir.livejournal.com]

They were everywhere; I found them crawling up the walls, in the curtains, on the carpets...just the thought is making my nose itch right now!

These are the nematodes that I used; they're naturally occurring, and aren't harmful to anything else around them.

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

Vine weevils ON THE WALLS!! IN THE CURTAINS!! ON THE CARPETS!! Eeek!!!!

By 'infestation', you weren't joking... I can envisage regiments of marching vine weevils massing for attack!

[gylfinir.livejournal.com]

It was horrendous! I couldn't sleep because I thought they'd stomp all over me. I'd been given the jade plant as a gift and it was - literally - crawling with them. This was my first, horrific, introduction to the vine weevil. I hate them.