I admit to not being overly fond of caterpillars or larvae of any kind munching away on my garden plants but if they stick to wild plants, I am good. I will, occasionally, leave certain caterpillars on things like the fennel or parsley simply because I usually have a garden full of plants and I do like butterflies. However, if the larva turns into some ugly, biting bug, then it has got to go. Today's larvae do not turn into ugly, biting bugs but rather adorable, innocuous beetles.
After hearing the "neighborhood watch" clan throw out their uproar of calls, I decided that I had better check what was happening. Blue jays are notorious for finding snakes and these were near the pier. Well, I never found the snake. I was sidetracked by the beautiful larvae! The Groundsel bushes next to the pier were literally covered with the tiny caterpillar like things. The sunshiny day had caused hundreds of the critters to hatch and they were happily munching away on the leaves. These were the Groundsel Bush Beetle larvae. (Long name for a tiny critter!) Although, the larvae were about a half inch long, they were hard to miss. These are some of the most iridescently colored critters alive! My interest in photographing a cottonmouth or water snake soon disappeared as I became obsessed with the larvae.
You would think that a beetle would look a lot like its larva in color, at least. Not so. The Groundsel Bush Beetle larva is rainbow colored and quite shiny while the adult beetle is yellow with black stripes and dots. In fact, they are so different that it took me several seasons before I realized these were one and the same. Now, I seek out the larvae in early spring to admire their colors and then the beetles during midsummer to do likewise with them. Yes, they do eat the leaves of the bush but that is not of big concern. The bushes can grow out of control so I figure the critters are just doing me a favor.
For the past several years, I have been noticing some pretty elaborate caterpillar looking critters happily munching on the leaves of the Groundsel bushes near the shore end of the pier. Groundsel bushes are also known as salt myrtle as they grow in or around salt marshes. They are low growing, thick bushes that make a plethora of fluffy, white seeds that look a lot like swarming termites when they are being scattered by the wind. (Yes, termites are bad down here so anytime there is a "swarm" of anything, we think termites.) The caterpillars munch away on the leaves until the bushes are pretty much stripped. Then, the little buggers go into hiding until they do their larva-changing-into-adult thing.
Today, instead of caterpillars, I found the adults. The adults are beetles that look quite different from the caterpillars or larvae Where the young are brightly colored and iridescent (almost metallic looking), the beetles are bright yellow and black. The beetles were so busy eating that they were oblivious to my attempts at photographing them. Dozens of the critters crawled about the bush and I am sure there were just as many on the other bushes along the shoreline. We have an infestation of cute, little bugs!
Long story, made short. It seems that the beetle was introduced to keep the invasive Groundsel bush in check. While I cannot vouch for the veracity of the story, it may make sense in a weird sort of way to whoever thought of it. Why not introduce yet another possibly invasive species into an area that is plagued by so many? I will say, if the bush is invasive, the caterpillars and beetles are doing their part of stripping the leaves and perhaps weakening it but who is to say that these critters are not going to move on to other plants? Oh, well. At least they are cute!...but I could do with the invasive part. Maybe if they ate termites....just saying...
Early this morning, Mark and I made a trek to the pier. It was a gorgeous day and felt grand to be outside....before the rains start again tomorrow. While there, I noticed that the Groundsel Bushes were starting to bud and there were a number of False Ladybugs crawling about them. (I say false because these are the Asian Beetles that have more white on their heads that the Ladybugs) On closer inspection, those beetles were there merely because of an infestation of aphids. The tiny aphids had obviously just hatched as they were still relatively small. The beetles were making quick work of the little varmints, though, so all was well. I am good as long as the Asian Beetles are behaving nicely and not causing problems. They do eat a number of garden pests and are rather cute. The only downside is that they will overwinter in cracks and crevices in the house and that they BITE! Not that one has ever bitten me but folks have told me that they have received a nasty (albeit small) bite from a beetle when the bug was handled. Dozens of the critters were on the bush and I handled quite a few...no bites. Maybe I just taste bad.
Anyway, as we were watching the aphid-munching fest, I noticed another denizen of the Groundsel Bush. A tiny caterpillar was busy with his own breakfast. This caterpillar was rather unusually beautiful for a glorified "worm". It was sort of bronze in color with a hint of blues and greens. A sheen of gold made it sort of metallic looking. The caterpillar really was unlike any that reside in the garden. As I was photographing the one, Mark called my attention to dozens of other caterpillars. The look-a-like critters were all filling their bellies with the new growth on the bush.
One would think that such a lovely caterpillar would surely morph into something as equally lovely. Perhaps this was the forerunner of a gorgeous butterfly or majestic moth. Not so...this is the caterpillar that morphs into none other than the Groundsel Bush Beetle. The beetle, itself, is not particularly showy. It has a greenish yellow head with a few black dots and black wings edged with the same green/yellow. I will have to wait a few weeks to get a photograph of the adult as none were present today.
As its name suggests, the Groundsel Bush Beetle loves to munch on the leaves of the Groundsel Bush. Since this is so, the beetle was actually introduced in parts of the world where the Groundsel Bush was becoming a nuisance or invasive plant. It only takes a short while for the caterpillars to totally strip a bush of its new leaves. If the bush was weakened by a severely cold winter or other disease, this defoliating would bring sure death to the shrub. Here the bushes do well. They love the brackish waters of the Bayou and multiply like crazy. It does not bother me to see the caterpillars stripping the bush near the pier.
As long as the aphids, Asian Beetles and Groundsel Bush Beetles all stay down near the marsh edge and do not make an attempt to munch my garden, I am happy. They can live in peace and I will have plenty of subjects to photograph. Be happy, little bugs...just do not be happy in my gardens!
