Photo Credit: Nutmeg66
I’ve chosen this little green beetle as a Wednesday Wiggler because our garden is now full of them.
I’ve tried to find and hunt out information on them over the past couple of days so that I can decide if I need to worry about these little bugs eating our veggies.
They’re a metallic green, about 4mm long with the women slightly longer at about 7mm. The female also has a swollen black abdomen prior to egg laying during the mating season which lasts from March to October.
The adult’s life span is only a couple of months but they can hibernate over winter.
As their name suggests Green Dock Beetles feed almost exclusively on dock and sorrel but if these are not available to them or are in short supply they will eat from the cabbage family (Brassicaceae) as well as the borage, violet and buckwheat families. These choices would not be high on their menu though as their larvae will not fully develop if they feed on these plants.
So it would seem that we have a perfectly good reason for NOT ridding ourselves of all the docks in our garden and may have to forget about growing sorrel. This is a great example of why we should encourage all types of wildlife into our gardens to prevent a build up of any one type of insect. The green dock beetle’s natural predators are insectivores (such as birds and frogs) and parasites.
By regularly feeding birds, planting hedges, building ponds and not keeping our gardens overly tidy we can encourage a diverse range of wildlife and create a natural balance.
If you have a smaller suburban garden you may be thinking that’s all so very well but not feasible. I suspect however, that the little green beetle may be more rampant in a rural garden due to the abundance of food sources in the countryside.
Source: http://www.insectoid.info/beetles/
6 Comments
Thanks for the heads up, we grow lots of sorrel and have never ran into this beetle but if we do I now know what it is.
I think you might be okay Mr H as they appear to be confined to Europe and Siberia…. you never know though!
Just found of loads of these mating today in the field across the road, where there are loads of docks. Enjoying watching them scrabble around inside the see-through box I have for them – they are great escape artists!
Never recall seeing them before, just came across your page while researching them. Really like the look of your blog.
Thank you 🙂 funny how they come and go too. We were overwhelmed then but have barely seen any this year.
The dock beetle has reduced what we’re 3 majestic Rheums to fragile lace and have now started on my persicaria bistorta. Help!
Ah that’s a nuisance, I feel for you! Not sure how to manage them organically other than picking them off. I’ve since learnt that they enjoy rhubarb too, which explains all the holes in the leaves!