The guests have arrived

It wasn't even the 4th of July when I noticed the first one. Dead and in the pool skimmer along with several other members of the insect world. The Japanese beetles are here. Whenever I first notice their emergence, I think of the roses. For probably numerous reasons, I have very little luck with roses. The handful of plants I do have always look like they're barely clinging to life. And if I happen to be so lucky that one of them produces a bloom or two, those iridescent devils have left them in tatters before I even realize it. This year seems a little different, though. There's not as many Japanese beetles. I might have been able to get away with a dahlia planting if I'd known it was going to be a light year. My previous attempts were total exercises in futility. As soon as those tight balls of gorgeous bloom unfurled, I could have posted an all-you-can-eat buffet sign over the bed. Along with my own personal observations, I'd also seen an interesting blog post regarding a natural predator to Japanese beetles… are we maybe seeing the beginning of the end for them? According to the NH Department of Agriculture (agriculture.nh.gov), for the last handful of years many New Englanders have reported a noticeable drop in the beetle's summer appearance in their gardens. The fluctuations are somewhat broad and may very well be a natural occurrence resulting from weather conditions. Japanese beetle larvae thrive in moist soil and much of NH has been in an enduring drought (though it doesn't seem like it lately.) It is believed Japanese beetles first entered the U.S. in the early 1900s, arriving undetected on imported Iris plants from Japan. Since then, the hungry bugs have spread throughout most of mainland U.S. None of the beetles have established themselves in Alaska, Hawaii or Puerto Rico with strict monitoring and quarantining systems in place to prevent their spread. Several western states have quarantine systems in place as well as a significant eradication procedure should samples be gathered in trapping surveys. The Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica) is a type of scarab beetle with a wide-ranging palate for plants. The larvae develop underground and eat turf grass roots, leaving residential lawns with swaths of dead grass. The adult beetle usually emerges from the ground in late June and early July. They skeletonize the foliage of many, many plants. Though they're not picky, they do seem to have their favorites. Aside from rose and dahlia blooms, I've had them also decimate the large, hardy hibiscus plant down by my little pond and they also seem to really enjoy the foliage of Virginia creeper (which is not necessarily a bad thing.) Their life cycle lasts about four weeks, but the overall presence of Japanese beetles can stretch into September due to staggered reproduction cycles. I looked online to follow up on that headline I'd seen somewhere about a natural predator of Japanese beetles. Well, the predator turns out to be quite sinister. It turns out that Winsome flies participate in what's called a parasitoid cycle as part of their reproductive nature. Winsome flies look very similar to the common housefly but are a lighter grey color. Also native to Japan, they were intentionally introduced in the United States in the 1920s as a biological control agent to combat Japanese beetles (Hobbs Horticulture, Facebook.) The female Winsome fly lays her fertile eggs on the thorax of Japanese beetles. The eggs hatch within 24 hours and the larvae burrows its way inside its host body and eats the internal tissue of the beetle. The beetle dies within a couple days. What a way to go!