I have a garden full of slugs and snails and they have never touched Begonia semperflorens. And it doesn’t look like their damage anyway. I suggest you go out after dark and see if you can spot the culprit.

Hi b&b,

Check those plants tonight with a flashlight. Slugs do their damage under cover of darkness.

ZM

They were growing well then slowly started to look like this. It happened last year to. The ones I have on other side are fine but these are in a more shaded spot that has more moisture and the slugs seem to like that area.

Just looked and the only thing i could see are beetles. Actually 2 pairs of beetles one on each plant that appear to be stuck together. After looking online they look like june beetles,copper brown in color. Could they do this much damage? Everything I have read says beetles at least Japanese beetles don't like begonia but slugs and snails love them. I probably should of looked before putting slug pellets down. It's been 3 days and may have started working.

I wonder why my gastropods don’t eat Begonias. ‘Stuck together’ beetles is cute. They were mating! June beetles do eat plants. I haven’t found a source that says they don’t eat begonias.

remind me where you are..

could it be any closer to the brick?? .. how hot does the brick/pavement get ..

you note those in more shad.e. presumably with less water stress are fine.. but this one in hot sun next to a brick isnt... well.. what do you make of that ...

once you define that a plant is stressed.. then its weird how problems find them ...

ken

“ The ones I have on other side are fine but these are in a more shaded spot that has more moisture and the slugs seem to like that area.“

It’s the ones in the moist shade that are getting eaten, Ken. So it is not a sun or water issue.

Stuck together beetles aren't cute -- they're beasts who are procreating.

Which one did you find?

June bug

Japanese beetle

Easy to tell apart from the difference in coloring, Japanese beetles are metallic-looking and June bugs kind of resemble a date (the fruit, not a man). They're quite beautiful bugs, actually -- but can cause utter plant destruction in a short period of time. I can't say as though I've ever noticed June bugs causing any meaningful damage, but whether they actually do or not I don't know.

It was the expression ’stuck together’ I meant was cute, in the sense of naive or innocent. I wasn’t referring to the activity being described.

They looked like june beetles on the plants that look like they were eaten. And the plants are in more shade than the ones that are in sun most of the day. Other than the beetles I alway see slugs in that bed, a bunch.

Hi b&b,

" Other than the beetles I always see slugs in that bed, a bunch. "

You need to apply Sluggo to that bed.

ZM

Does not look like slug damage ………. leaves would be lacy looking. They come out at night, you could check at night if you suspect slugs. Flashlight needed, tweezers(to pluck them off) and cup of soapy water to drop them in which will kill them……beer will too, but why waste a good drink……lololo

debra

I'm in Delaware. Just rabbits but I don't think it's them. Had rabbits eating yarrow and the eat stem and all. I noticed a leaf that looked like a caterpillar was eating it. Chewed from outside in as if someone took a bite out of it.

Iv watched baby rabbits bite the whole stem off. Had to put green chicken fence around them. I understand what everyone means about not looking like slug damage. Unfortunately my hosts are full of it but there is nothing left of the leaves. Isn't it possible it started out like that until there was nothing left? I'll just keep putting slug pellets down and see if the recover. It's just driving me crazy. Can't find nothing on line that looks similar. Thanks for all the replies.

Just looked at other plants and noticed Ed these leave maybe it helps. One clearly looks like slug damage but others look like caterpillar but don't see caterpillars.