I volunteered to repay a glass of squash at a friend's house by seeking
answers to two questions :-)

1. Her Phygelius flowerheads and upper leaves have apparently been
virtually completely destroyed by the larvae of a weevil. The adult
weevil is quite large, c. 8mm in diameter, very rotund (it's almost
round when curled up in defensive position), dark brown/black speckled
cream in colour. It is very reminiscent of a bird dropping when seen on
the bush.

The damage is similar to that done by lily beetle larvae, areas of
tissue rendered dead and transparent, or entire leaves and flowers
devoured/shrivelled. The larvae look like, well, beetle larvae of the
slimy variety (as opposed to those . They pupate in cases similar in
size to those of gooseberry sawfly, but of a different texture (well,
they're not silk, are they? :-) and a slightly darker brown, on the
plant near the damages areas.

Now that I notice, there are weevils doing precisely the same thing to
my brassicas. Little swine... I mean weevils.


2. She'd like to know where to buy a real, functioning pump for a real,
functioning well. Don't know whether electric or manual is most
desirable (I have fond memories of having to find the water to prime
manual pumps in my yoof); can anyone suggest a good make?

regards
sarah

--
Waist deep, neck deep
We'll be drowning before too long
We're neck deep in the Big Muddy
And the damned fools keep yelling to push on