Something is at my plants...

[franzb69]

been recently getting locusts and grasshoppers out here myself. they've been eating my eggplants and pepper leaves.

 

[Celeste]

There are spotted beetles that resemble ladybugs but they are a different species. We always called them potato bugs, because thats what they ravished in the south- makes sense they would be fond of all the nightshades, I suppose?

 

[srin2]

i got problems with the 12 spotted lady bugs they can really devastate a plant. especially its young , they eat 24hrs a day. usually it attacks my brinjal/eggplant plant

 

[Wildfire Chilli Australia]

Thanks I'll give them a wash and hope that works. As a side note, I have 5 purple flash plants that are completely unaffected...maybe not as tatsy for the critters perhaps?

I have noticed that all my purple plants never seem to get affected by anything even if I have an infestation of aphids. It must be something in the pigment/anthocyanin that they dont like.
I did a quick google and found this:
"
In photosynthetic tissues (such as leaves and sometimes stems), anthocyanins have been shown to act as a "sunscreen", protecting cells from high-light damage by absorbing blue-green and UV light, thereby protecting the tissues from photoinhibition, or high-light stress. This has been shown to occur in red juvenile leaves, autumn leaves, and broad-leaved evergreen leaves that turn red during the winter. It has also been proposed that red coloration of leaves may camouflage leaves from herbivores blind to red wavelengths, or signal unpalatability, since anthocyanin synthesis often coincides with synthesis of unpalatable phenolic compounds.[1]

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/anthocyanin#ixzz1C83s2pVu"


So they must taste funny to bugs!

 

[gasificada]

Wish the same could be said for mites! One of my Purple Naga Jolokia plants is being absolutely murdered by the flamin' little shits..... although the leaves are purplish/greenish (not entirely purple). But if I can recall correctly, they got to my Black Pearl last season too.

 

[G-Aus]

Interesting stuff! Gasificada, I guess the little critters will get to anything eventually. So far so good with my purple plants, a few aphids here and there but I reckon they're the dopey ones who got the wrong address

Candice, might have to order some more Smokey Jolokia soon, delicious!

 

[klorentz]

It should be noted that ladybugs native to N.America and the transplanted Asian ladybug do not eat plants they eat aphids and a few other things buggy Also be on the look out for the tomato horn worm or their relatives.They do eat peppers.Caught one of the nasty buggers on my bells last year ( a first for me ).


Kevin