The field of rape about 80m away was harvested yesterday and I'm now wondering if they came from there, but they either fly or can leap a long way. I'm just unsure where so many came from all at once with no previous sign of them. They are about 3mm long and it's hard to tell if they are responsible for any leaf damage since I've already had caterpillars and slugs on the brassicas.
No longer newish but can't think of a new name so will remain forever newish.
So I've done some Googling and they could be cabbage stem weevil or rape weevil. The timing of their egg-laying doesn't tie in with my growing season up here, but since there were lots of them on the outside of the netting yesterday I'm thinking they came from the rape harvest. They're harvesting the other field today, a bit further from the brassicas on the other side of the garden, and lighter winds today so hopefully fewer will travel into the garden. We are down in a dip across a burn from the fields, but it was windy enough in the right direction yesterday for them to flow down in our direction. I can't find any treatment for this time of year though, so I guess I just have to hope they e had enough to eat on the rape.
No longer newish but can't think of a new name so will remain forever newish.
All I could tell is that they were weevils of some kind. If you do see damage to your brassicas later on in the season, you could consider netting your crops with enviromesh or similar insect-proof netting next year. This sort of thing is always going to happen when monocultures like rape are farmed nearby.
A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
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I can't find any treatment for this time of year though, so I guess I just have to hope they e had enough to eat on the rape.