Green June Beetle, Fig Beetle (Cotinis mutabilis)
Last night Emery and I went out to the fig tree to pick more figs. Last week I dried a good size batch that I had picked and new that more would be ready this week....what a surprise we found. A total invasion of Fig Beetles on all the choice fruits. It is part of life here at our place, this battle between us and nature to see who can get to the growing food first. We see the neighbor take out his harsh chemicals and spray away the pests but we like keeping our land organic and that often results in what seems like a loosing battle. This year seems worse for us since we are not letting the chickens out all the time, due to Harry's fondness for hunting down the chickens for the thrill of the kill. I am grateful for the figs we have harvested and for the ones the beetles had not yet visited. But it still was disappointing to see juicy sweet fruit being munched up by masses of green bugs !
pictures from this morning when I went to check on the figs
Comments
Boo that they got your figs!
xox,
Susan
confessionsofasineater.blogspot.com
Your neighbor's spraying might only serve to increase the beetles' numbers since he might also be poisoning any animals that eat these beetles.
Your neighbor might be doing nothing more than increasing the green fig beetles' numbers since he's probably also poisoning any animals that might eat them.
This beetle is often misnamed Japanese beetle, which is somewhat similar but considerably smaller.