The enemy of my fig is my enemy
This year has been tough for fig harvest and storage. For, the weather has been cool and relatively wet. This is causing the figs to ripen more slowly and as I’ve noted before, figs swell up and burst their skin when they have excess water. Thus, they are slow to reach the picking stage. Since figs will not ripen after they have been picked, it’s a game of timing. Unfortunately, the timing is not in my favor. It is, however, in the favor of the birds, wasps - and this year - the Japanese Beetle.
The Japanese Beetle does not have many of it’s natural enemies in the United States is it does in Japan. Most documentation describes the beetles as eating the leaves of plants. I can say for a fact, they like the flesh of figs much more.
(click the image for a larger and much scarier view)
August 24th, 2008 at 20:37
Love this shot of the beetle and the wasp on the next post. The beetle has such beautiful color… Thanks for these shots.. And good luck getting some figs!
Best,
Roy.
August 24th, 2008 at 21:10
The beetles are mostly “competition”. The wasps, on the other had, are down right scary! I jump every time I hear one.