Hi all I know I've been gone for sooooo long, but I'm not really gone. I keep up with all of you and your postings but I just don't have too much time to post back these days. I couldn't figure out what as decimating my irises. After much searching, I discovered that it was this same blister beetle. They move pretty fast and like Laurie said, you can hear them munching!!! So much damage and in just one day. : ( Anyway, I found this thread and thought I'd better bump it up. I probably had about 35 or 40 of the critters and they were spreading to my delphs. Something has been chewing my lilies this year too. That's a bit scary but I haven't found anything yet. Maybe it was these and they've just migrated. They are attracted to the nectar of the flowers. Sorry to all that don't approve, but I grabbed the Raid Earwig Killer. It seems to have worked but I'll have to check tomorrow. they are very active in the day and rest at night. Miss you all. Hopefully, life will settle a bit in the fall and I'll be back. Lacrosse Lacrosse Lacrosse. Shauna

Any soft bodied insect pest will be effectively controlled using Insecticidal soap, Neem oil or BT sprays. These products are safe and effective when applied following the directions on the containers. The key to success is to read all the words on the label; a novel concept for some of us! That would be me who learned this the hard way.

conifers are commonly known as evergreen .... i swear a conifer can be dead for months.. before it browns and loses its needles ... ergo .. the brown tissue probably developed over the winter.. probably due to the transport and transplant to your garden ... this fly .. no matter what it is.. hatched a few hours ago ... how can it be anywhere in the equation as to why this is the second or third BHSpruce you are having trouble with???? and how it may be related to tissue that browned months ago ??? are you hoping for better answers over here .. instead of the conifer forum.. where we usually hang out... lol ... good luck on the ID ... knowledge is power.. but i dont think its going to answer the browning problem .... ken PS: boy thats a lot of whitish mulch ... do these things get any protection from the sun any time of the year ???? reflective sun ... in winter .. can be very problematic ... perhaps sunburning the needles.. not only from above.. but from below with that mulch and snow ... i know there is nothing you can do about it.. with the drainage field ... and i suspect that once the plant gets more 'established' ... it will be able to overcome it all ...

They do damage!! I had one of those on top of my thai basil one day a week or so ago. I left the little guy there because he was remarkably colorful and I did not see any damage. The next day there were 3 or 4 big holes on the same leaf, with the little bugger still there. I left him there and the next day a few more holes, about 1/4 inch on other leaves!! Actually a lot of damage for such a little critter. I believe it is a baby Katydid. Here is a link that might be useful: This?