Could you have earwigs? Sometimes they seem to have a preference for
certain plants, other times they will destroy anything in sight!

"Pat Kiewicz" wrote in message
. ..
Mike C# said:

P.S. - After further investigation I'm seeing giant ants crawling all over
these flowers (haven't seen them actually eat anything yet though) and I
just noticed a strange looking beetle on one of them. The bug is brown
and
black with antenna that split into three separate feelers at the end.
It's
triangular shaped, like a shield bug, but those antennae are really
throwing
me off. If it is a shield bug/stink bug, obviously I have to get rid of
it,
but it shouldn't be chewing up my plants -- it should be sucking them dry.
And I haven't found anything to indicate that ants eat vincae either.

Shield bugs don't have antennae that split at the ends, but flower beetles
(a type of scarab beetle) do.


Does
anyone have any ideas on the best way to get rid of the shield bugs, and
how
to figure out what's eating these plants?

Thanks

"Mike C#" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

I have a little problem in my little flower garden. I have 5 - 6
different types of flowers in it including Impatiens, New Zealand
Impatiens, Begonias and Vincae(sp?). Everything seems to be doing
well,
except the Vincae... The leaves are being *eaten* by something. I'm
seeing large chunks and holes taken out of them. Also some of the
petals
are being eaten, and others are popped off at the stem as if they were
either sliced off or ejected off by the plant itself(!?) None of the
other flowers are being affected...

The only info I found about vinca-eating insects are aphids, but even
they
don't appear to eat large chunks of the leaves and petals? Or do they?
I
also saw a large ant crawling on one of the dropped petals. Is it
possible that the ants are eating up these plants? If so, any idea why
they wouldn't attack the others? And what can I do about them?

Thanks




--
Pat in Plymouth MI ('someplace.net' is comcast)

Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(attributed to Don Marti)