They're Back....

with a vengeance.

n.a.s.t.y.

N.A.S.T.Y.

Rose Chafers.

Here they are munching (and doing other things) on our grapes. They eat the flesh of the leaves and skeletonize them. We have found them on lots of different plants--potatoes, beans, strawberries, raspberries and our fruit trees. I even found a few on the squash and melon leaves. They also like flowers and have been all over the marigolds and johnny jump-ups. We pick them off and put them into a bucket of soapy water, but at times it feels overwhelming. Fortunately they don't sting or bite and are rather clumsy fliers so they are easy to catch.

The ewwww factor is quite high, though, I have to say. Thank goodness they are short-lived. I sincerely hope we are looking at the last of these guys.

Aidan thought his stuffed toy looked a bit like our real-life rose chafers and asked me to put him in the blog post. I'm glad the real ones aren't this big or I'd definitely be having nightmares.

Actually, I'll probably have nightmares anyway.

Yuck.