Japanese beetles score-1, me-0. Anyone want to try and guess what this used to be ? Not much left to go by, is there !

That's terrible.

We get quite a few of these too; the traps are ok if you put them far away from your garden as they tend to attract even more beetles that you already have, only a small amount entering the traps. They are called by pheremones, so if you have one, dozens will be attracted to it, etc, Terrible little beasties! Catch & release is not an option with these....they will return.

Yes Grammazoo, the traps only attract the males, while the females are still free, munching in the yard..lol. That's the ones I have to personally take care of by hand removal...yuk !

These are gross, What a mess they've made ! At least our pests, eg. slugs, snails, caterpillars, green fly and black fly are relatively easy to deal.

could you drop a plastic bag over the leaf, then snip it off, trapping the bugs in the bag? Or do you have to handle them??? Yuck! I know some beetles just drop to the ground when you come near them.

I not only hand pick them..... I've been known to hand crush them.....hahahaha ! One of the only things I've ever done that grosses my husband and son out....lol. Usually it's always been the other way around.

Hey! good for you... we will have to trade details of technique! I'm good with sawfly larvae...LOL! Just noting that they went only for the calla...the other plants around it look quite undisturbed...or were they just using the calla as apetizer?

They seem to have a tendency to colonize. I can have five callas growing in the yard and they will only destroy one of them, and if I'm dealing with a heavy infestation, some of the overflow might spread to whatever is growing next to it, regardless of what it is.

I really should pay a little attention to the bugs in my garden, but if they're distructive I just squish 'em. The bugs that looked like those you've pictured are red and black, same shape and size body...but just two colours and they destroyed physalis and milkweed. I was very thorough and I think that may be why I haven't seen them yet this season...I hope they don't show..but if they do...I'll be just as ruthless..with beetles or larva who just drop from the plant when you're trying to collect them I've tried spraying the inside of a black plastic garbage bag with raid and popping it over the whole plant...fastening it at the bottom and pulling the plant out by the roots...better to lose one plant that the whole bed...methinks. it worked on these guys...