The burdock flowers also draw a crowd of bees; these ones are European honey bees.
Category: Insects
Burdock & Ladybugs
Another reason I like burdock is that it supports a lot of insects. A week ago, I noticed that seemingly overnight, the undersides of the flower clusters had been swarmed by hundreds of aphids. I pulled out the hose and blasted a bunch of them off with a few quick squirts, but that only thins them out, it never gets ’em all, so I was very pleased to find a couple of ladybugs crawling around on it the next day. Although they’re cute, I know they’re fiends for aphids.
And even better, by the end of the week I was seeing ladybug larvae crawling around, clearing out the lingering aphids. A few days later, I can no longer find any aphids at all.
Earwig
Last week I turned over a rock in a sidewalk treebed and this little earwig scuttled out looking for a new burrow.
Spotted Lantern Fly Alert
I just killed a second Spotted Lantern Fly less than 24 hours after the first, so I’ve nailed its carcass to my garden gate as a warning to others.
(Well, that was my original plan, but I switched to tape because I don’t think a nail would’ve worked very well.)
