Butterfly Bush Help

[Ocean Lover]

There are several different types of Sphinx moths, hummingbird moth being one of them. What's that Bug?

Mr. OL says he saw 3 different ones. I think 2 of them were a male/female. It was windy yesterday so they didn't hang around too long. Maybe they will come back.

 

[Gypsea]

Thanks Ocean Lover for posting about your new discovery. I too saw what looked like a small hummingbird this week when I was down but it flew so fast that I was not close enough to get a good look. It must have been one of your butterfly moths.

 

[Rita]

OL,

If not much of your leaves have been eaten, don't even bother to treat the plant. As long as your plant is healthy and has lots of leaf area left let whatever is eating it have some. Just watch that it doesn't start doing too much damage.

Bacillus thuringinsis (BT) will kill caterpillars, other stuff won't.

My daughter raised a Sphinx moth from caterpillar to pupa to moth once. Very cool!

Enjoy!

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[Mango]

There are several different types of Sphinx moths, hummingbird moth being one of them. What's that Bug?

That's a cool site. :clap_1:

 

[Ocean Lover]

That's a cool site. :clap_1:

I just revisited...did you happen to click on the bug love link? :shock:

 

[Ocean Lover]

OL,

If not much of your leaves have been eaten, don't even bother to treat the plant. As long as your plant is healthy and has lots of leaf area left let whatever is eating it have some. Just watch that it doesn't start doing too much damage.

Bacillus thuringinsis (BT) will kill caterpillars, other stuff won't.

My daughter raised a Sphinx moth from caterpillar to pupa to moth once. Very cool!

Enjoy!


Thanks Rita, it might be Japanese beetles..I've found a few on the bush. I'll leave them alone for now. It's not too bad. My little friends have not been back since Sunday. Did your daughter raise her moth for a school project? My son would love that. They raised some sort of icky beetle last year. I think they started out with mealworms.

 

[Ocean Lover]

That's a cool site. :clap_1:

Mango, your tar just kills me. You realize nothing you say can be taken seriously with that!

 

[Jdarg]

Apparently you can buy beneficial bugs on E-bay- ladybugs, praying mantis, etc.

My neighbor bought 1000 praying mantis eggs, hatched them out in a bucket, then the kids turned them loose in the backyard. Unfortunately, I think most were turned loose in areas that are visited weekly by a lawnmower, but a few survivors have been spotted. I call this guy the "Bug Rancher" now.

 

[Ocean Lover]

Praying Mantis' totally freak me out. Dylan wanted me to try and help him catch one for school when they were studying bugs. Lets just say we never caught it and it was very tramatic for me. The thing was huge...it could have eaten me.

 

[Rita]

Praying Mantis' totally freak me out. Dylan wanted me to try and help him catch one for school when they were studying bugs. Lets just say we never caught it and it was very tramatic for me. The thing was huge...it could have eaten me.

A friend of mine once saw a praying mantis that had captured a hummingbird!

Something like this:

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