What's eating my vinca flowers?

11 years ago

I have annual potted vincas and this morning I noticed that there's holes in the flower petals as if something was eating them. Only, the holes are only in the petals, not in the leaves. I have yet to find an eaten leaf. I'm worried about my flowers being consumed by whatever this pest is. They are already having a hard time in the new pot. Help!

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Comments (3)

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
11 years ago
Leaf cutter bees. They are not all that picky about taking those almost precise arcs/half circles out of flowers or foliage, which they use to build nests. Since both the vinca and the bees are very seasonal in appearance, I wouldn't be overly concerned - the vinca won't survive frost and the bees overwinter as dormant larvae. And the bees are valuable pollinators.
nicolekatelynyoung
Original Author
11 years ago
Will the bees harm my chrysanthemums that I just planted last week?
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
11 years ago
more of a spring problem .. for me in MI ... where are you???

mums are part of the basis of pyrethrum insect goos ... i cant think of many things that attack mums ... though you dont really tell us what kind of mums ... [maybe slugs???]

finally ... its fall .. and working on winter ... [unless you are downunder] ... and as such ... its not really a time to be much concerned with annuals .... as their season is mostly over ...

ken