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For the first time, tiny beetles in rose blooms

ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

I know this has been talked about before, but when you don't have it you tend not to pay much attention. Well, now I have them! Looking at SdlM flowers, every one of them has about 8-10 of the little critters with very tiny snouts, measuring just a few millimeters. Do the birds ever clean these off or is this a plague I'll be saddled with from now on? Are they seasonal or do they ever go away? This was shaping up to be a good spring and now I have these pests, not to mention that a lot of rose foliage has mildewed practically overnight, probably from the rain we had. I'd appreciate any info you have about these tiny monsters.

Featured Answer

jacqueline9CA

8 years ago

Ingrid - we have rose curculio beetles here, but ours are red with black snouts. Other than the snouts, they are the size and color of ladybugs. They plant their eggs in rose buds. Then the buds die, and droop over. When the dead buds fall off, the eggs hatch next year. So, it is very important to not only get the bugs you can see, but to take off every drooping bud you see (they have visible little black marks on them where the beetle made a hole, so easy to tell) and dispose of them. When the curculios are disturbed, their defense is to drop straight down immediately, so it is important to have your bowl (or I use a grocery bag) beneath them before they sense you.

Jackie

Comments (9)

nikthegreek
8 years ago
Are these the ones?
Naupactus cervinus
ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
Original Author
8 years ago
No, Nik, these have shiny black bodies with a sort of green iridescence, and their noses are extremely pointed. I believe they're common here in some areas and I wish I'd paid attention to the name mentioned.
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ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
Original Author
8 years ago
I've researched, and it's a curculio beetle, and it can be controlled by knocking the blooms against the side of a plastic bowl half-filled with water mixed with dishwashing liquid. It works perfectly and their numbers can be greatly reduced by consistently doing this. They favor lighter colored roses.
jacqueline9CA
8 years ago
Turns out there are many kinds of curculios - here is a link to "images" of them. The ones we have here are the red ones with black snouts. Ingrid, do you see the ones you have in the pics?

https://www.google.com/search?q=images+%22+curculios%22&lr=&as_qdr=all&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiko7CekbfLAhVC2mMKHeBpB4kQsAQIHA&biw=916&bih=745

Jackie
ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9 thanked jacqueline9CA
ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Yes, Jackie, I do see my variety, and also saw it on another site that advised what to do about them. The ones that attack roses can be different colors, although the main variety seems to be red, but the black ones are common too. Great tip about the nodding buds with holes in them. I have seen them before but never paid much attention. I certainly will now. I got quite a number of them with the soapy water method when I went out earlier and will continue to do it every day. It's not so bad now since not many roses are blooming but in about 3 weeks it will be a different story. Unfortunately most of my roses are light-colored, which they favor. I'm wondering; Blush Noisette has many buds, would they go after single roses?
jacqueline9CA
8 years ago
In my garden they mostly like roses which have small blooms/buds, such as Cecile Brunner, and other polyanthas. Horrid things! They seem to spread to nearby bushes, so check bushes around the ones you see them on. I have mostly gotten rid of them, but I do check every Spring to make sure I jump on any that show up.

Jackie
ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
Original Author
8 years ago
Their favorite here seems to be SdlM which is anything but small. Aunt Margy's Rose, the only polyantha blooming now other than Mr. Bluebird, does have small buds but I couldn't see anything on them. The blooms are a darker lilac pink and I wonder if that makes a difference.
roseseek
8 years ago
Lyn G has found by removing the first flush of blooms from her roses, she's knocked down their population dramatically. She sacrifices the first flush because in her climate, they're only there for several weeks in spring, about the time of the first flush of blooms. She said the side benefit is her roses have grown larger, faster by not letting them mature their first flush. She's also densely under planted them with ground covers to prevent the eggs from entering the ground and any which have, from easily making it back up to the flowers. All without any pesticides.

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