AusBonsai

found lots of these guys in my yard today



at first I thought they were dendrobium beetles
(they are very harmful to orchids etc)

after check the www I identified them as

red shouldered leaf beetles... thanks to WhatsThatBug.com
they are active after a dry spell is broken
they feed mainly on grass roots
but will infest foliage and can damage bonsai by stripping leaves in a few hours
however they are not generally a problem unless in large numbers
(more than 50 I guess)

anyhow just thought I post this up for anyone else who is seeing these guys around

ps I also found a few assasin bugs around so I wont be spraying as the natural way is usually best

thanks for looking J

Great Info Many Thanks for Posting

They are on the NSW north coast too. They ate all the new growth on a purple plum bonsai, decimated a cercis tree in the garden in a couple of hours, and the new growth on lots of trees. Control with caterpillar spray.

gollum wrote:found lots of these guys in my yard today



at first I thought they were dendrobium beetles
(they are very harmful to orchids etc)

after check the www I identified them as

red shouldered leaf beetles... thanks to WhatsThatBug.com
they are active after a dry spell is broken
they feed mainly on grass roots
but will infest foliage and can damage bonsai by stripping leaves in a few hours
however they are not generally a problem unless in large numbers
(more than 50 I guess)

anyhow just thought I post this up for anyone else who is seeing these guys around

ps I also found a few assasin bugs around so I wont be spraying as the natural way is usually best

thanks for looking J

These mongrels are responsible for the demise of the best part of my collection a few years back. We had a large Cadagi Tree at the southern end of my shade house and each season these beetles would flock to the Cadagi tree by the millions. Over a few years I kept loosing bonsai that were placed on the benches at the end where the Cadagi was.... Eventually we discovered these beetles on masse excrete a mist which the southerly winds would blow in onto the bonsai, and in turn basically suffocated the trees. The Cadagi is now long gone and these beetles have only returned once a couple of years ago and attacked out huge PJ fig.
Neem oil works a treat if you want to get rid of them quickly so I've heard.