Carol, First of all, those 'exotic' aphids are not exotic at all. :P They are Oleander Aphids and are most fond of Asclepias. Check out my Monarch blog for more info (link below). I prune my Milkweed all the time. No worries on the pruning, as long as you don't have any Monarchs ovipositing! BTW: As far as the !@#$% aphids are concerned: I blast 'em off with water. Here is a link that might be useful: tdogmom's Monarch blog

Donna15: If the parasitic wasps in your area are invading mason bee tubes, then they're not the parasitic wasps that attack the beetles. These are a whole different species. We have a FAQ How do I keep the red lily leaf beetle from destroying my lilies? which gives general information, and the UMass Extension has an excellent Fact Sheet on the Lily Leaf Beetle. UMass says: "If your customers only have a few plants in their garden, hand-picking adults and eggs can be effective. For more than a few susceptible plants, pesticide treatments may be needed. Products containing Neem (Bon-NeemTM, AzatinTM), a botanical insecticide, have been shown to kill very young larvae but must be applied every five to seven days after egg hatch. Products containing the systemic imidacloprid are reportedly providing effective control applied either as a foliage spray or soil drench depending on label instructions. Imidacloprid is the active ingredient in MarathonTM, used by commercial flower growers, MeritTM, used by landscapers and home gardeners and one of the active ingredients in Bayer Advanced Rose and Flower Insect Killer for home gardeners. There are also other home gardener formulations containing imidacloprid. Products containing spinosad a microbial insecticide, may also be effective. Spinosad is sold as ConserveTM and EntrustTM for commercial growers and Monterey Garden Insect SprayTM, BULL'S-EYETM and others. Before recommending a product or applying any pesticide, read the label and apply only as directed on the label." I've used the Bayer Advanced Rose and Flower spray with good results, but with all of these pesticides you have to be careful not to apply them when the bees and other beneficial insects are visiting the flowers. There are soil drenches you can use (I've used them with good results), but some of these contain fertilizer as well and are better applied in the spring when plant growth is starting up, rather than fall when plants will soon be going dormant. The beetles will overwinter in the soil so you should aim for killing as many as possible now before they dive down, and then watch for them as soon as the lilies start showing in the spring. I like the systemic insecticides, like Bayer, because they're spread throughout the lily tissues and mostly affect insects that feed on the leaves and flowers. One caveat: It is possible that the insecticide will be contained in the pollen so that could affect bees. Claire

If it looks like a ladybug, but you're not sure, then simply observe its behavior for a short time. Ladybugs will be actively feeding on insect eggs, aphids, whitefly nymphs, young scale, etc. There are some other insects out there which look very much like ladybugs (Mexican bean beetles and squash beetles, for example), but they will both be associated with plant damage. Here's a Google images collection for you to look over. I see that there are some (speaking of bean and squash beetles) imposters amongst the photographs, lol. Can you spot them? Here is a link that might be useful: Click here for some information

Why I never tried the Bonide stuff is because it has Pyrithrin (SP) or similar poisons in it. U.C.Davis found that some mites actually like the stuff. It does something to make them breed like crazy. Plus it kills off the natural stuff that might eat them. No pest strips might be not so good to hang out around for a long time but I only hang it out when needed. I seal it in a vac pack bag between uses. I think it needs air to evaporate whatever is in it. Seems to work so far... I might try this stuff this season. Gotta watch soil PH and can burn plants in the sun... Gotta be careful... Liquid Sulfur link below. Here is a link that might be useful: liquid sulfur