Image – Flickr / Artur Rydzewski
It is highly recommended (and even necessary) that in a garden and, above all, in an orchard there is a great variety of animal species, but the truth is that there are some that can cause some other problem. One of them is the one that belongs to the genus ketonia.
This is a beetle that actually looks harmless, but it does not hurt to monitor it and control its population. Here’s why.
What is it?
Cetonia is a genus of coleopterans originating in temperate regions of Europe and America, being the C. aurata species the best known as it is the one that causes the most problems for plants, especially roses. Its size is small, about 20mm in length, and it has a coloration that can be metallic green, copper, bronze, violet, blue-blackish or gray..
The larvae have a wrinkled, C-shaped body with a head and three very short pairs of legs.
What is its life cycle like?
The cycle lasts two years. Adults emerge in fall or spring and mateafter which the female lays her eggs in decomposing organic matter and then dies. The larvae hibernate in the same place where they ‘hatched’, and pupate in early summer.
When fall or flower season returns, they will have grown into adults.
What damage does it cause to plants?
In general, it is not an insect that is a potential enemy of plant beings, but as we said, it can cause damage since They feed on the flowers, young shoots, leaves and fruits of plantsespecially rose bushes, compound and umbelliferous (such as parsley or fennel for example).
What to do to repel or eliminate it?
Image – Flickr / miss Murasaki
Home remedies
- We can spray the plants and surroundings with White vinegar three times per week.
- Catch the specimens and release them awayat a distance of at least 1km.
- Protect crops with mosquito net or metal (grid).
Chemical remedies
If the pest is widespread and causing real problems, we can treat it with an anti-beetle insecticide. But because of how damaging this type of product can be for the environment, I recommend being patient and trying home remedies first.
I hope it has been useful to you .
