[chrissie B]

all my lovley roses are being eaten from the inside by a flying beetle , black with white dots , they seemto like the smelly roses the best , anyone got any ideas , had a look around for them only found a hairy bee very similar .
chrissie b

[DavidT]

Give us a photo of them Chrissie.

[chrissie B]

will do tomorrow

[Salmo]

Small black beetles in flowers are usually pollen beetles in UK. Could be something totally different in Greece. Standard garden insecticides with pyrethrum control them.

[chrissie B]

they maake a real mess and there can be 6 or more in there doing things , this morning i sprayed them with cocky spray seemed to have an effect but havent had the chance to have another look , will get a pic now before the rain comes .
chrissie b

[catllar]

I think I'm sharing the same pest with you, chrissie. I live in the south of france and have the same beetles.  I'm squashing them , very satisfying, and  as  a last resort have resorted to bug spray, but that doesnt seem to stop them. The bad news is that they also sem very fond of cistes and at a pinch, irises.  I guess I must have squashed over a thousand this last week  and am becoming seriously traumatised! By the way the best thing I've come with for executions is a pair of flat-nosed pliers .Using these reduces the collateral damage done to the blooms by fingers. I have taken samples in to a local garden centre but no-one there seems to know (nor care) what they could be.

[chrissie B]

yes i think they are the same as my irises are all chewed to death , are you getting the big green bugs as well the crunch under foot is very satisfiying , they are easy to pick up as the play deat when you touch them , i am going to try a tip nut solution which is collect the tops and bottoms of your onions as you use them , keep in a bag in the fridge , then you boil it up , take out the onions , let it cool and put it in a spray bottle , so i will let you know what happens , its for green fly but im hoping it will work on these .
chrissie b

[DavidT]

I think the big green bugs you are refering to Chrissie are Shield bugs. They are friendly.

[chrissie B]

no not these ones they are large and a vwry shiny green , the other ones are smaller , black and have white dots on them , what ever they are they are a menace .
sorry no pics yet hubbys away and hes took the camera with him .
chrissie b

[catllar]

Yes, I've got the huge shiny  green ones too - make a good brooch, and definitely not shield bugs. As the huge green ones are not too prevalent I am letting them alone for the moment, but its those persky black and white ones.... Thanks for the onion tip, I'll give it a go - who wants roses to smell of roses anyway? How boring is that, onion is much more original. I am leaving the squashed corpses around the flowers - perhaps the smell of rotting beetle will deter the others!?   It is nice to know I'm not alone in this one.

[catllar]

how are you doing with your beetles, chrissie? I havent made any progress identifying them - none of my other neighbours have them, although I have to say they are decreasing now, perhaps they are getting the message via the corpses!

[chrissie B]

not so bad now but ive been in uk for 12 days and when i came back the roses were a bit tatty i think the beetles have had their time , how are yours ? but of course there are a whole host of new perils to deal with and its not easy finding out the good ones from the bad , they should where black hats for the bad and white for the good .
chrissie b

[catllar]

still getting the odd one here and there but now earwigs are taking over (why do we bother??) The first flush of flowers is over so I've cut back the roses and given them a feed - see what happens when the next lot of flowers come out. Im off to england for a few days next week too, so they will have the place to themselves. What I want to know is why does the birdlife that we so assiduously encourage not eat the little blighters? I'd second your idea for black and white hats!

[tode]

The big green ones are Scarab beetles, and are usually only found in roses that are past their prime: they feed on the pollen, I believe.   Much too beautiful to squidge   

[catllar]

Agree with you re the green scarabs, tode, but the black and white ones, as we've said ,are much smaller and do a lot of damage - the flower buds are destroyed before they open and once they are open are full of holes and brown edges.