Plz atch something other than a thumbnail.

Dan

Uh oh. Way to small and way too dark. Please try again.

Hi, thank you for all the post. I meant zone 6 sorry for the confusion. I am a first timer to all of this. And since I wasn't even aware that the country was divided into zones until about 4 weeks ago I'm sure you guys will let it slide. lol. Anyways, I couldn't figure out how to change the photo so I had to repost the entire message again. Hope it doesn't get deleted before I get some help. I have noticed that it keeps eating them sometime between noon and the early evening. I'm at work then so there's no way of knowing for sure what it is. I would like to know what I can do to stop it though. It is absolutely wrecking my flowerbed.

Aw, darn! I was hoping you had found some obscure mountain top environment with a wacky temperature zone, lol. I was going to visit!

Anyway, your vinca is being visited by those leaf cutter bees, which use the little discs they remove from foliage and flowers to line their nests.

Leaf cutter bee damage is usually considered purely aesthetic. In other words, these insects really aren't truly 'wrecking' your flowerbed or harming the plants. They are considered important pollinators, if that helps you wait out the damage.

Here is a link that might be useful: Click here for more information

OP's larger image.

Rhizo and her Mr. Magoo glasses strike again!

Uh oh, here's the link to the larger image
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/pests/msg0702484317356.html

Here is a link that might be useful: larger image

Okay. Well even if it isn't killing my plants it is wrecking my flowerbed. Aesthetics are important to me and since those are almost the only thing I have blooming right now in the bed I don't want this bee cutting up my flowers every time they get a bloom open. What do these things look like anyway? Do they kind of look like a moth but with the colors of a bee? I saw one of those earlier today hanging around my bed but I didn't catch it eating anything. So can I gat rid of them? And how? Thanks for all the help.

Different subject, how do you put an image in a response I didn't see anything where I could upload in a response that's why I reposted.

Leaf cutter bees look like...bees. (See attached link for a google image page.) Your 'moth bee' COULD have been one of the several clear-wing moths. There are some species that look quite a bit like big bees.

Here is a link that might be useful: Beneficial Leaf cutter bees

Our leaf cutters here look about half the size of a Euro honeybee.

The DD likes to look at them when she goes out to pick peas, as they seem to be only on peas this year so are especially numerous there. Not a big deal. No one on the planet has a garden without some leaf deformation. No one.

Dan

I know that this post is over 6 years old, but...in case someone comes across this post as I did, my vote is for the common garden SLUG, I have them in my vincas and they are eating the flowers and leaves. Because slugs would be eating at night while humans are sleeping, you wouldn't observe any damage during the day (contradicts the statement that the pest is attacking between noon and early evening). Use Sluggo or diatomaceous earth or just pick them off if/when you see them. If using containers, they may be hiding underneath.

The picture clearly shows the damage of leaf cutter bees. The OP says that the damage occurred during the day.

We all know that slugs can be a problem but they weren't the issue here. Why don't you start your own new thread and post images of your vinca so that others can learn from your experiences?

Shockingly its GRASSHOPPERS eating your vinca plant! I looked all over the web to find out what it was...everyone said it was a bee beetle....I just planted 50 plants next day half of them were eaten flower, buds and leaves! Next nite I went out and tiny grasshoppers were chewing away!! Hope this helps your mystery culprit. No place did I find grasshoppers eating vincas!!

What no websight or professional has suggested is earwigs or, pincher bugs. These r nocornal and will devour pink vincas!!!! I had vinca vines and blue verbena amongst pink vinca. The earwigs were only eaing the pink vinca

And what nobody has established over all these years, including three hours ago, is what plant species is under discussion. 'Vinca' and 'Periwinkle' don't tell us what we are talking about. Is this Vinca minor/major or Catharanthus roseus? The eleven year old photos tell us nothing since they show only a blurry white bloom and no foliage.