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The Garden Party

Where did the bugs go?

9 years ago

Not sure what's going on in the bug year but we haven't had a bug smashed on the windshield, no bugs in the garden. The peach tree yielded I suppose 12 or 15 lbs. of peaches. Late frost got most of the bloom but the apple tree went nuts. I brought in 36 lbs. of apples and Leone brought in 13 lbs. more and she said there are still a lot of fruit up a little higher. I have never sprayed the tree with any kind of insecticide or fungicide and there is not an apple with any bug or worm damage. I planted this tree about 40 years ago and it has never produced anything like this year. the variety is Jonalicious, not even sure that variety is commercaly available any more. Running out of room to store apples, refrigerator in the basement is completely full of them. A lot stored in the one in the kitchen, Leone is making pies and is freezing themFamily is coming from Colorado and will pick the ones up higher. The tree is a semi-dwarf but still taller than we want to climb.

What I can't understand is the complete lack of insects, apples are usually like a magnet for all kinds of pests that we have shared the fruit with them

Maybe and I hope it was the very severe winter we had with almost no snow cover. Week after week of minus zero temps.Nice to have a bug free garden and fruit trees but really, insects are important in the grand scheme of things Puzzled in Nebraska.

Proofread by L.

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Comments (7)

anneliese_32
9 years ago
The same here, everything is missing, including the ladybugs.The city usually sprays at night several times against mosquitos, not this year.
west_gardener
9 years ago
We have not have many bugs this year, but then again, because of the drought, we don't have many plants that would attract bugs.
Seems that the mosquitos are active and carrying the West Nile Virus. DH read that parts of our city would be sprayed during the night for mosquitos. We would not have known, if he had not read the local news on the net.
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Keith, when you feed the mealies you should leave them out of the fridge to feed, the apple peals need to have some apple on them too, not just the peals as they need the moisture from the apple. Mine eat the apple and leave the peals. I have kept mine in the fridge from October to April and they have stayed alive. You just need to take them out like once every three weeks or so and feed them or they will die. When you feed them you leave them out of the fridge for several hours so they can wake up enough to eat, I usually leave them out a whole day but not overnight. They also eat the wheatbran or oatmeal that they are in but they need apple/carrots/lettuc etc for moisture. Do not leave the moisture source in them when you put them back in the fridge though or they could mold and kill the mealies. Donna
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gmatx zone 6
9 years ago
The only bugs we have had an abundance of here this year is the darn grasshoppers. The guineas, including the keets, have nearly run their legs off catching them. It is so entertaining to watch guineas run......doesn't take much to entertain this family!

Anneliese, I don't think that I have seen but 2 or 3 ladybugs this year. Never really thought about it until I read your post.
jim_1 (Zone 5B)
9 years ago
I think I have most of them in central Illinois. Two apple trees and not one eatable apple. I sprayed like my father taught me, most of what I had was apple scab. I tossed at least 100! I also pruned off some leaves from the cherry tree, all kinds of bugs creating holey leaves and webs. Cucumbers had to be pulled do to beetle damage and now the squash bugs are working on the butternut plants. But, I have spotted only 2 Japanese Beetles, up from none last year.

What I also have, smile here, are monarchs. Lots of them. Caterpillars all over the place and I have found several of the chrysalis (what is the plural of that?).

And then, my mystery animal. Something is chewing my paste tomatoes. And I mean chewing, half a tomato at a time. I have a 6-foot cedar fence and I finally got rid of the rabbits in the back yard in late May. No squirrels within 2 blocks (10 year old subdivision and trees aren't bit enough for them). I discovered one tomato yesterday and I could see the teeth marks. Evidently the tomato wasn't ripe enough because that was all. However, there was another one on the ground and more than half was gone.
lilosophie
9 years ago
It's pretty bug-free here too, maybe the upside of the drought?
Not even very many flies, but that may be because there are no horses and the awful people across the road were made to get rid of all their animals except the pack of dogs.
There were few dragon-flies, usually we have squadrons of them.
The song-birds depending on insects, packed up and left early and I don't see bats, either.
There were mosquitoes for a short time, but it's too dry for them, so there are only a few.
rob333 (zone 7b)
9 years ago
I was thinking the upside of a super cold winter (for us), but now that it's nationwide, I'm befuddled?? In Nashville, not even once did we talk about West Nile, much less spray, and I can't remember being bitten by a mosquito even once? No bugs. Hm.
sweet_betsy No AL Z7
9 years ago
All of the mosquitoes are visiting at my place along with the yellow jackets and bumblebees; however, no japanese beetles this year.

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