Some Beetles and How They Interact With the Environment

Over the last few years, we've seen many kinds of beetles. Apparently when Darwin (or Haldane or some other entomologist) was asked about God, he said, "He must certainly have loved beetles." There certainly are a lot of them! And some of them are spectacular! Here is the Scarlet Malachite Beetle on a raspberry plant. (Their grubs eat small invertebrates, but the adults won't say no to some flower nectar.) This Rhubarb Weevil should have been called the Banana Weevil, to my way of thinking. Here are the Raspberry Cane Borer, and the Raspberry Fruitworm Beetle, less than 2 mm long, whose larvae eat the ripening raspberries. Did I mention we have a great number of black raspberry plants? They were of course brought by the birds in spring of 1992 or thereabouts. In 1992, I didn't have or hadn't spotted black raspberry canes, but in summer of 1993 there was one healthy cane, which over the last 23 years has grown to "take over" the north and south gardens. Yum! Thanks birds, for giving me raspberries and for providing a place for these two beetles to survive.



Here's a locust borer and then a locust leaf miner, both beetles. There are no locust trees in my yard but they are a pest tree all over town. And here is everyone's favorite potato beetle. But wait! Did you notice that this beetle is suspended in a spider's web? Better now? And here's one you are bound to love - the lightning "bug"!



Japanese beetles have a special fondness for raspberry leaves and berries... Soldier beetles like aphids. Cucumber beetles.... Atalantycha babies like rotting wood.



A beetle that is known for its voracious appetite for small bugs, the ladybird! In case you were worried by the Northern Pine Weevil, just look what some spider had for supper. Now I know, this isn't a beetle, but it too has its place in nature. This is the Poison Ivy Sawfly! There is something for everything! Now I don't feel too bad about not being able to extirpate all the poison ivy in the yard!

Speaking of spiders, let's take a look at some of the beauties in my yard. Next