Many Japanese Beetles at Birkdale Ravine: September 2020

Japanese Beetles are a lovely mixture of copper colour, green, black and white.

Japanese Beetle

In Japan it is kept in check by natural predators but in North American it is a pest of over 300 plant species.

Japanese Beetle

Just about every grape vine I saw today had extensive leaf damage from them.

Japanese Beetle
Japanese Beetles
Japanese Beetles
Japanese Beetle
Japanese Beetle
Japanese Beetle
Japanese Beetle
Japanese Beetle
Japanese Beetle
Japanese Beetles
Japanese Beetle damage to grape leaf

Snails were also in the area:

Brown-lipped Snail with Japanese Beetle
Brown-lipped Snail
juvenile Brown-lipped Snail
Brown-lipped Snail

I enjoyed seeing bees disappear completely into large Himalayan Balsam flowers.

Bumble Bee with Himalayan Balsam
Bumble Bee with Himalayan Balsam
Bumble Bee with Himalayan Balsam
Bumble Bee with Himalayan Balsam

Birkdale Ravine in Scarborough follows Highland Creek from Brimley Rd. to Ellesmere Ave.

Even in winter, if there is open water, there are Mallards in Highland Creek.

Mallard
Mallard
Mallard
Mallard

Some botany:

Bittersweet Nightshade (Solanum dulcamara)
Himalayan Balsam (Impatiens grandulifera)
Himalayan Balsam (Impatiens grandulifera)
Himalayan Balsam (Impatiens grandulifera)
Himalayan Balsam (Impatiens grandulifera)
Himalayan Balsam (Impatiens grandulifera)
Pinkweed (Persicaria pensylvanica)
Dog-strangling Vine (Vincetoxicum rossicum)
Red Clover (Trifolium pratense)
Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)
Northern Willow-herb (Epilobium glandulosum)
Northern Willow-herb (Epilobium glandulosum)
Common Buttercup (Ranunculus acris)
Mullein (Verbascum thapsis)
Canada Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis)
Wild-cucumber (Echinocystis lobata)
Queen-Anne’s-lace (Daucus carota)
Ragweed (Ambrosia artemisifolia)
Privet (Ligustrum obtusifolium)
Highbush-cranberry (Viburnum opulus)
Syrphid Fly on Chicory
Pale-leaved Sunflower (Helianthus decapetalus)

NATURE POETRY

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date.     William Shakespeare (1564–1616) 

Miles Hearn

2 thoughts on “Many Japanese Beetles at Birkdale Ravine: September 2020

  1. Charles Bruce-Thompson

    In the UK Himalayan Balsam is informally called “Bee Bum”, the reason for which is perfectly illustrated here

    Thanks Miles!

    Reply
  2. Lisa Volkov

    I sure miss seeing a lot of this in person–but this is certainly the next best thing! I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen a Mallard with its wings fully displayed and extended like this (not slowly enough to actually see them, as one can in these pictures, anyway). Thanks, Miles!

    Reply

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