Normally when I find a big collection of aphids one on of my plants (I wonder what a group of aphids is called? An arsenal? An assemblage?)…normally when I find an arsenal of aphids like this, out comes the hose. But I’m leaving these guys on this rudbeckia plant because it’s a volunteer, and maybe some ladybugs will stop by and have a feast.
The stems are all covered with aphids along with the backs of many of the leaves.
Meanwhile, on my nearby rose that I thought had died out 2 years ago already and has apparently risen from the dead, the rose slugs have been busy. This larvae of the sawfly likes to skeletonize the leaves.
This is another garden pest that’s most easily dislodged with the spray of the hose (or by picking them off by hand—ick!). I’ve decided to leave them for the birds this time. I didn’t even know that rose was alive, so it feels silly to get all obsessed about it now.
Next up, Japanese beetles. Over the last 15 years the earliest I’ve seen them appear in my yard is June 16th and the latest is July 10th. Last year there weren’t that many, so I’m hoping that’s a start of a new trend!