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Help! - What's eating my Catalpa?

philipconnor50philipconnor50 Posts: 5
in Problem solving
philipconnor50 says:

Can anyone help please? I am very much an amateur gardener who by chance has a lovely Catalpa (Indian bean) tree in his garden. This year the leaves are being eaten by a nasty looking black and yellow bug.

Does anyone have any suggestions of how to treat this?

Thanks.

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  • philipconnor50philipconnor50 Posts: 5

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  • philipconnor50philipconnor50 Posts: 5

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  • MrMahoniaMrMahonia Posts: 82

    its a baby ladybird.

    if it was me i would leave them because they are good at eating other nasties like aphids. you could always move them to another area of the garden

    Last edited: 11 July 2016 15:47:13

  • philipconnor50philipconnor50 Posts: 5

    Thanks MrMahonia. Do you know when they will become adult ladybirds and will they stop eating the leaves then? They are quite rampant and have eaten most of the leaves up to about 6 foot high.

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,143

    Don't move the ladybird larvae - they are in the right place for them - you cannot make that sort of decision like the adult ladybirds did when they laid their eggs.

    The larvae will turn into ladybirds very soon.  You are so very lucky to have them - they will keep the number of aphids down in your garden. 

    I have never known them to eat leaves, and I cannot find any reference online to them eating leaves.

    I think it must be something else eating the leaves.

    Do you have any wood pigeons about - they love eating lovely soft tree leaves. 


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • philipconnor50philipconnor50 Posts: 5

    Thanks DoveFromAbove. There are a few pigeons in the area but we've never seen them anywhere near the tree. I would be surprised if they were at fault!

  • Ladybird4Ladybird4 Posts: 37,905

    Ladybird larvae do not eat leaves. They are carnivorous and just love snacking on aphids.

    Cacoethes: An irresistible urge to do something inadvisable
  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445

    don't judge by appearances. It's only nasty looking to you, its mother loves it. 

    As Ladybird says (and she should know), they are carnivorous. They eat aphids. People buy them online to eat the pests in their gardens



    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,384

    I suspect it may be caterpillars eating the leaves, or even snails which love climbing things in wet weather.  I find a lot of them hidden in the foliage of clematis and ivy at the top of a 6 foot fence.

    Last edited: 11 July 2016 18:51:53

    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
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