#30 Let’s Talk About Pests

                Let’s talk about pests. Pests come in a variety of sizes and shapes. Some are a major problem. Some are just a nuisance. The madman’s definition of a pest is an organism that cramps his style or causes his plants harm.

The Gray Catbird

                Take the Gray catbird for example. This year, according to our calendar, he showed up on Thursday, May 2. Since this siting always signals warm weather, we are happy to welcome him back. But, catbirds like to nest in the lilacs just outside our bedroom window. You might not think that’s a big deal, but these birds get up before the crack of dawn and during mating season, the male sings nonstop – and he’s not quiet about it.

                This year, we severely pruned the lilacs hoping to rejuvenate the 50+ year old stand. The catbird chose the holly bush by the folly for nesting. If his nesting near the house isn’t enough, there is another reason to call the catbird a pest.

The Battle for the Blueberries

                He likes blueberries. A lot. The madman likes blueberries. A lot. We have blueberries in several places. I bet you can see where this is headed. Thanks to the rain in early spring, our blueberry bushes are loaded. Because the catbird is an early riser, he gets to the bushes first. In spite to this fact, we are picking more blueberries than we ever have before.

                Because of the sheer number of berries, the madman is much more tolerant of the catbird this year. The bird still eats his share, but we have plenty for ourselves. A win for the madman and for nature. The catbird eats his berries plain, so does the madman. But this year, there are far more berries than the two of them can eat.

Blueberry Syrup

                Since we use no chemicals on the bushes, we can just pick, sort and freeze. In the winter, we will just throw a batch into a recipe. Speaking of recipes, we have found one for an interesting blueberry syrup. To one cup of cooked blueberries, add ¼ cup of sugar and thicken with cornstarch if it is too runny; then add one cup of fresh blueberries, stir and serve. Yum. Best thing on vanilla ice cream.

Looking for Caterpillars

                While the madman has been hanging out in the blueberries with the catbirds (one actually landed on the branch he was picking and squawked at him!), I have been scouting for other so called “pests”, the caterpillars. Some gardeners call them pests because they eat holes in the leaves of their precious plants. But, we love to see them because we know they will turn into some pretty neat insects-except for the green caterpillar of the Imported Cabbage Moth. When we find these little buggers, we squish them, no questions asked. What does get questioned is the identity of any other caterpillar.

Don’t be Quick to Squish

                Because of Pamm Cooper’s Master Gardener lectures, we have learned that not all caterpillars and bugs are bad. We have found a system that works for us. Find it. Photograph it. Identify it. Deal with it. We don’t mind holes in the leaves of plants when we know that the cause of the hole will turn into a beautiful butterfly. For those gardeners who don’t want holes in their plants, Pamm suggests moving the caterpillar to another spot.

Surprise on a Citrus

                Our system was born several years ago when the madman noticed damage on one of his potted citrus trees. He found a spot of what appeared to be bird droppings on a half-eaten leaf. As he got closer to the leaf, two red horns popped out of the pile. Instinct almost made him squish what was obviously a hungry caterpillar. Instead, he looked it up – the pile was the larval form of the Giant swallowtail butterfly.

Swallowtail Butterflies

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                His cousins, the swallowtails, lay eggs on plants in the Apiacea family, such as dill, fennel, Queen Anne’s lace and parsley. So, of course, the madman insists that we mix these plants throughout the flower garden beds in back and the vegetable beds in front. His efforts do not go unrewarded. I have a large copper fennel plant growing in the path of a flower bed. It is definitely in the wrong spot, but we let it grow. In fact, we refer to it as the nursery plant because it is often the host of so many caterpillars.

Mourning Cloak Butterfly

                A few weeks ago, the madman came running in because he spotted a caterpillar on an elm leaf. The caterpillar was duly photographed and identified as the larva of a mourning cloak butterfly, sometimes called the spiny elm caterpillar. The madman was rather pleased with himself for that pick up. Because the caterpillar was dining on a small tree growing in a pot (remember, the madman is a collector), he followed Pamm Cooper’s advice and moved it into the woods before it stripped the tree clean.

Purple Carrot Moth

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                Sometimes our process reveals a caterpillar that could be a problem. The madman recently made such a discovery. He was inspecting his cucumber plants to make sure they were free of the striped cucumber beetle and at the end of the row he discovered a strange caterpillar on the umbel of a dill plant. The photograph and subsequent ID introduced us to the larva of the Purple Carrot Seed Moth, an invasive recently discovered in the United States. Not good. This pest has appeared only within the past decade so not much is known about it. What we do know is that the moth lays her eggs on plants belonging to the Umbelliferae (carrot) family. If you grow carrots, the moth may not be a big problem because you harvest the carrot before it seeds. However, those who grow dill for the seed heads will find the insect a major pest.  As you can guess we destroyed the pest and will be diligent in examining our dill.

Monarch Butterflies

                We can’t end this post with an invasive so we will tell you about the milkweed and the monarch butterfly – not from our garden, but from the garden at the Middlesex County Extension Center in Haddam. We have been trying for years to establish a strong milkweed patch, and we are slowly getting there but the patch in Haddam is way ahead of ours. There, common milkweed has spread throughout the planting areas – a look at these beds suggests why some gardeners consider the plant a weed in their formal flower beds. Common milkweed is rather aggressive – for those who find this plant unacceptable, there are other more well-behaved cultivars.

                Last week we were in Haddam to help out with the Master Gardeners’ practice final exam. The milkweed plants just outside the testing area were crawling with caterpillars – all of them the larvae of Monarch butterflies. They have done what we hope to do – become a destination for migrating Monarch butterflies. Just before the rain (yeah, 3.5”), the madman spotted a Monarch flitting among the flowers in the back beds – they are coming!

                You know, life would be great if these were the only pests we face, but there are 254 different species of Connecticut moths and butterflies listed on the Insect Identification website. We have just mentioned some of the madman’s favorite sightings.

                So now we’ll sit back and enjoy some lemonade.