When this beetle first appeared on the site (and he was very lonely), we looked at him with interest. It is believed that the insect is unique because we have never met it before.
Enraptured and liberated. But in the Biological Encyclopedic Dictionary I found that the wandering beetle is Cetonia aurata. If we had known what kind of trouble he would bring us in the near future— we would have been executed on the spot.
Invasion
In the year of our acquaintance Cetonia aurata did not harm us, the number was small, and there were no fodder plants — more tomatoes and potatoes were grown in the garden. Although four beds were always sown with spicy herbs, he still did not come across his eyes.
And when a large flowerbed appeared, the beetles began to descend in clouds – large, heavy in flight. Takeoff – loud buzzing, growling and rumbling, as if the aircraft engines are running in afterburner mode. And it flies powerfully, confidently, strongly. They cannot be called lazy, at least they do not linger on flowers for a long time, as if they understand that we will catch and will not allow to spoil the beauty.
Feed base Cetonia
Golden bully, not a single flower will miss for breakfast or lunch. Spoiling the beauty begins with the earliest irises. Then he switches to lupines, bearded irises. They do not stand on ceremony with lupine flowers: they climb powerfully inside, pulling them out, they are examined methodically, one by one. If the bully-glutton flew to the iris flower, then, obviously, he is calling his friends (somehow unimaginably notified), because several whales are soon feeding on the flower. They need only 3-4 minutes to destroy the beauty, turn the flower into rags.
Watersheds bloom – they begin to eat them. Behind them on the table are peonies, lilacs, chamomile. Even the late field harvest is underway: up to 15 beetles can get into the loose inflorescence at the same time! Sometimes I wonder – how many of them are flying in the surrounding airspace at all, and who controls them? They know the time when the flower blooms: while the Bud is sleeping, there is no Cetonia, as soon as the petals open, the enemy armada immediately goes on the offensive.
Ways of dealing with Cetonia aurata
Would you say that there are chemical agents for fighting? I agree. But then it is necessary to process all plants, because the beetle Cetonia aurata is omnivorous. And how to spray lupines if bees like it: as soon as the sun rose, so their whole hive is sitting in the flower garden. It is a pity that workers and assistants will die. Whose bees arrive is unknown, but not all beekeepers take their bees to the field. Apparently, it is believed that gardeners do not raise their hand to create useful things so as to harm others.
It looks like we don’t have natural enemies Setonia. That’s why I became her enemy. Bugs are caught without problems: when he burrows into a flower, he sees and hears nothing, he is so carried away by the process. The simplest method was chosen — mechanical: they took it with their fingers, tore it off from the flower and into the jar, then the jar in the sun, and then they threw it on the paths in the garden. And I noticed that the remains of Cetonia aurata beetles were disappearing somewhere. I was not too lazy, I watched. And I realized that the thieves were sparrows. But it’s not clear: if sparrows eat dead beetles, then why don’t they catch live ones? Maybe Setonia is too big for small birds? And if sparrows eat beetles, is it possible to give them to chickens? After all, insects are a storehouse of protein, just right for chickens. What if Cetonia aurata is poisonous? I’ll give a jar of bugs to eat, and then the chickens before they grow up will not survive…
I think it’s the second day. There is no time to search for information on the Internet. And suddenly I see that my boy grandchildren are catching bugs and throwing them into the chicken coop. Chickens fight for Cetonia aurata, children rejoice in the commotion. I am, of course, strictly asking: “Who allowed it? What if the bugs are poisonous and the chickens die?” And the grandchildren answer that the mother of the chickens (I mean the chicken) has been feeding our birds with these beautiful beetles for a long time. So the natural enemy has been found! For this enemy, we started catching the whole Cetonia aurata family: walk through the flower garden, collect 150 pieces, feed the birds. An hour or so later – another walk through the flower garden, and again a good catch. But after a while it became clear that we could not overcome such Cetonia aurata fees.
We will have to use other methods, otherwise we will have to part with the viridarium – after all, we do not want to admire the gnawed flowers.
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