It was a lovely, early summer day as I was walking though my mum's garden looking for something to shoot. By something I mean some newly open flowers, maybe a butterfly or some spiders... you know. The usual boring stuff.
But I did not expect to find this!
Rhopalapion longirostre
One one side of the garden there is a row of hollyhocks planted. I saw them growing the buds and was looking forward to the flower. But by the time the flowers open, little Hollyhock Weevils (Rhopalapion longirostre) decided to have an orgy party!
I actually never saw such tiny weevils before! And so many of them in one place. As cute as they look, they are actually pretty mean pests and can damage the plant. Different type of weevil is attached to different plants feeding on the and laying eggs in the stems or fruits.
This bugger will feed on the leaves and flowers leaving small holes after. And yes I notice those. Besides that they will do no more harm to the plant. The problem is with the larvae. After all the fun they have now female will lay eggs in the flower buds. Then when seed pods starts to form, larvae will feed on the newly developed seeds. So it may happen that the pods will be empty.
The flowers did bloom soon after and looked pretty though and my mum doesn't care much about the seeds anyway.
A side note about the garden - my mum doesn't use almost any bug killers, so all kinds of insects live the happily in harmony with other insects. Unless aphids attack her roses - those she will protect with any weapon available!
Seriously.
Get a room!
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Shot with Nikon D5500 + Sigma 105mm lens
All photos and text are my own.
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