At first they were tiny and cream colored with titanium shells. Seriously, they took a few good whacks to crack. Crazy enough, every one has had a tiny yolk!
After about a week, they started to get a little bit bigger and the brownish hue deepened into a nice caramel color.
And then today I collected the biggest so far. It’s barely smaller than the behemoths the old hens lay. It’s not as brown as the others have been, but it still has a cream hue.
Old hen egg (left) vs New hen egg (right)
The new girls were pretty proud of themselves and were rewarded with grapes…their favorite.
Little brown(ish) eggs
Growing so slowly in size
Soft and creamy white
Operation Japanese Beetle Eradication (JBE) Date: June 30, 2017
Subject of Study:
Japanese beetles aka Revolting Beasts
Entomoligists:
– Joseph the Bug Hunter (JBH)
– Jacob the Bug Whacker (JBW)
– Issabella the Scout
– Cheyenne the Soldier
– Melissa (Mom)
Report: Experiment #1: The beetles in the bug house were not as destructive as I thought they would be. Status: Failed.
Experiment #2: The containers with dead beetles were slightly effective, but by the time we installed them around the perimeter, there were just too many beetles to combat. Status: Failed.
Experiment #3: We tried a homemade essential oil spray: cedarwood oil with water. We sprayed one row of kiwi and, while there were fewer beetles the next day, there were again too many to combat. Status: Failed.
Experiment #4: After seeing that they were leaving the chocolate mint completely alone, my niece had the idea of making a “potion” of mint and water. We pulled a bunch of mint and blended it up with water, strained it and loaded up a couple of spray bottles.
The troops were deployed. This time, we sprayed two of the rose bushes, leaving the third as our control.
Again, it worked slightly, but there were just too many to combat. Status: Failed.
What do we do now? I’m at a loss. Further research will be needed to determine our next steps. Stay tuned.
Operation Japanese Beetle Eradication (JBE) Date: July 2, 2017
Subject of Study:
Japanese beetles aka &#%!@?s
Entomoligists:
– Joseph the Bug Hunter (JBH)
– Jacob the Bug Whacker (JBW)
– Melissa (Mom)
The Final Experiment
While I believe that one or all of the natural methods we tried would have worked to manage the onslaught of the beetles, I also believe that, by the time we tried them, it was too late and there werejust too many to combat.
So, I am going to try organicNeem Oil in an effort to stop them from completely obliterating what is left of the vineyard, fedge and our young fruit trees in the swales.
We are also going to spread milky spore over the lawn to kill as many grubs as we can in the hope of hatching fewer beetles next year.
The potential problem with both of these methods is the cost.
Beetles are laying their eggs all over the 5 acres we own for the entire 8 weeks they are here. That means that next year Japanese beetle grubs will be waiting to emerge from the soil as a full-grown army of maniacal demons.
If we wanted to cover the entire property, we would need a ton of milky spore to have a chance against such an enemy.
Does this mean we won’t try it? Absolutely not. I will try everything withing my power to destroy my insect enemy, but we need to be vigilant and prepared with the other methods we have tried in order to stop–or at least better manage this blight.
They may have defeated us this year, but my team of entomologists will be back to fight the battle anew next year…armed with new knowledge and better weaponry.
Down but not yet out
We learn from all our failures
And come back swinging
Operation Japanese Beetle Eradication (JBE) Date: June 26, 2017
Subject of Study:
Japanese beetles aka Revolting Beasts
Entomoligists:
– Joseph the Bug Hunter (JBH)
– Jacob the Bug Whacker (JBW)
– Melissa (Mom)
Report on 1st Experiment:
The beetles in the bug house are not as destructive as we predicted. It is possible that we have disturbed their behavior patterns by taking them out of their natural environment.
But I suspect something more diabolical.
They are up to something. I just know it.
New Observations:
– With high winds in the early afternoon, subjects behaved as they do in early morning and twilight hours. They were hanging on tight to their green victims, but they did not flee when approached.
– They are moving onto the blackberry leaves in force. I find more congregating there everyday.
– There are no Japanese beetles on the blanket of mint growing on the vineyard floor. Is the scent too strong?
They are increasing in number and becoming more destructive by the day. We must figure out how to stop them before it’s too late.
Experiment #2:
In further studying natural methods of disposing of the revolting beasts, we have decided to strategically place containers of drowned beetles around the perimeter of the most attacked areas of the homestead.
Other beetle battlers have reported success with this method. Apparently, the smell of rotting beetle bodies deters others from coming into the area of destruction.
Operation Japanese Beetle Eradication (JBE) Date: June 23, 2017
Entomoligists:
– Joseph
– Jacob
– Melissa
Subject of Study:
Japanese beetles aka Revolting Beasts
Appearance:
– Six legs
– Oval in shape, 1/3-1/2 inches
– Metallic green with coppery brown leaf covers
– Five patches of white hair on each side of the abdomen and 1 patch on the lower abdomen
Life cycle and Known Facts:
– Egg, grub, and adult stages.
– From early June to late July they emerge from the soil as pupa, become fully grown adults and begin their attack.
– They have an 8 week lifecycle during which they are laying eggs every day.
– The females live for a couple of weeks feeding on trees, shrubs and roses in the morning.
– They hide during mid-day and return to the desecrated plants in the afternoon.
– At this time, they carry out their true objective: they lay more eggs.
– They leave their scent on the leaves they eat as if to tell their cronies “this is a good spot”.
Observations:
– The beetles seem to be sleeping during twilight and the early morning hours.
– Cool rainy weather makes them lazy and depressed.
– In extreme winds, they have a tighter grip on the leaves they are desecrating.
– They are beginning to go after the early fruit as well as the bright green leaves.
– They love roses and are VERY fond of hardy kiwi and grape leaves.
– They are starting to attack blackberry, seaberry, aronia, cherry, blueberry and raspberry leaves.
– They seem to enjoy healthy plants as they are leaving the unhealthy ones alone.
Experiment #1:
– I caught four of the fiends and put them in my son’s bug house for observation.
– In this first experiment, we will make note of how long it takes 4 beetles to devour a leaf.
Ray and I like to let our spare change pile up on the dresser.
We have containers for quarters, nickels, pre-1982 pennies and everything else and we always say we’ll sort it later…which means we will get to it anywhere between a week and 6 months later.
The last time we did a big sort, Ray had the boys help. He talked to him about each coin and told them how many quarters, nickels, dimes, pennies it takes to make a dollar. At the end of the sorting, the boys each got a Sacajawea dollar for their piggy banks.
That was 6 months ago.
Last week, we decided it was past time to sort change. I wanted the boys to help me again, so I looked for a fun printable/activity on Pinterest. I couldn’t find exactly what I was looking for, so I made my own.
First, I talked to the boys about each coin. I asked them who the president was on each coin, which side was ‘heads’ and which ‘tails’ and talked to them about why some of the coins had ridges…something we had just learned when we read The Tuttle Twins and the Creature from Jekyll Island.
Then, we talked about how many of each coin it took to make a dollar. I handed out the printable I had made and told them if they made a dollar with each coin, they could keep all the change for their piggy banks.
They loved it. They learned and they made a little money for helping me.
Jake was tired of counting change by the time he got to the nickel page, but Joe plugged right along until he’d completed all four sheets.
Whenever I went out to the pasture, I searched and searched with no luck.
Turns out, I didn’t really know what I was looking for.
It wasn’t until Joe, my sweet 6-year-old boy pointed it out that I realized I’d missed it.
“Here’s the milkweed!” he shouted.
I gazed at it and felt an overwhelming sense of…embarrassment. Or maybe shame is a better word.
You see, I had seen this plant before.
In the vineyard.
In the fedge, and all over the pasture and swales.
In short, I’d seen it everywhere.
I just didn’t recognize it for what it was.
I’d been searching for the tall plant with the big pods, not these little guys. I didn’t stop to think what these might be…I just pulled them.
Sure, I left them alone when they weren’t in the middle of a path or smack in the center of the yard. The leaves are smooth and kind of pretty and I thought they looked nice mixed in with all the other greenery.
But I ruthlessly pulled all the others.
I felt really bad that I’d not recognized this plant for what it was. So I did a few Google searches to see what the life cycle of the milkweed is.
I learned that the life cycle from seed to flower is actually about 3 years. And guess what? The young plants don’t look a whole lot like milkweed. In fact, the very first “common mistake” listed is…
For the past couple of weeks, Joe has been asking if he could learn how to start a fire. My first reaction was to say “maybe when you are a bit older”.
But I then I thought, he’s curious and interested so why not now?
He’ll learn more and retain the information better. And, he’ll learn the safe and correct way to start a campfire.
Away from buildings, with water handy and the safe guidance of daddy.
Last night, Ray gave Joe and Jake their first lesson in building a fire.
He explained the why and patiently answered questions.
He guided them and he reinforced being safe at every turn.
He quizzed them throughout the process to make sure they had listened and understood both the dangers and reasons behind the safety guidelines.
He also explained what a fire needs. Air, heat and fuel.
I enjoyed watching him teach a lesson. The boys might have learned how to build and create fire from me or someone else, but watching them work with Ray and listening carefully to every word was amazing.
He was patient and the boys had fun.
They learn by doing and they were so proud of the end result of the lesson.
“Look at the fire we built!”
When the fire was roaring and ready, we all sat around the fire while the boys roasted marshmallows for us.
The boys could not stop smiling.
Fire play is so fun
With Daddy to guide the boys
Eyes bright and amazed
One cold, windy and sunny day, Joe got up and wanted to grow some frogs.
“Mom, can we collect some tadpoles from the pond and grow our own frogs?”
High off the success of hatching our own eggs, we put are mud boots on, grabbed a glass jar and trekked out to the pond to collect a few tadpoles.
“We might not see many since it’s so cold,” I told Joe.
We saw just a few more than I thought we would.
“Our pond is going to have all these frogs!?”
“Well, not all of them will make it,” I said.
“Oh yeah,” Joe said. “Predators.”
Joe wanted to collect a jar-full, but I convinced him that we should start with 5.
He dipped the jar into the shallow end and carefully lifted it out.
We ended up with 10.
The boys wanted to rush back inside and put them in the fish tank. I wasn’t so sure that Bubbles and Fannytail would appreciate that, so we went in and researched how to care for tadpoles.
We picked a shallow container and covered the bottom with gravel. Jake picked out a few bigger rocks for when the tadpoles grow into froglets.
Then we filled it about halfway up with some of our filtered water and poured the 10 tadpoles into their new home.
A couple of the sites we looked at said that they would eat fish food. Since we already had it on hand, that is what we sprinkled in for now. It’s not an ideal diet for frogs, so I ordered some frog food.
It takes 12-16 weeks for the tadpoles to develop into frogs. We are not sure how old these little guys are so we may see frogs sooner…or later.
Tadpoles in a jar
Metamorphose into frogs
In a month or 4
Joe found a beetle today while we were woodchipping the garden.
It was huge.
It was shiny.
It was making a weird noise…a cross between a hiss and a squeak.
Joe and Jake both thought it was cool.
I thought it was creepy and wanted to feed it to the chicks.
“I wonder what it eats,” said Joe as he put it in his bug house.
“We found it in the wood pile so let’s put some wood in,” said Jake.
I watched them work together, putting wood chips, grass and dirt in.
“What kind of beetle do you think it is?” I asked them.
They didn’t have any guesses, so Joe and I went inside to get a few bug books. The boys both wanted to “do research” on the trampoline so we climbed on with the books and the bug house and started looking for a match.
The beetle was hard to see, so of course Joe needed to take it out.
I tried nonchalantly scoot away when it crawled its way toward me making its weird hiss/squeak.
We looked through all of the insect books and came to the conclusion that Joe had found a female stag beetle.
“Are you sure it’s a stag beetle?” I asked Joe.
“Yep. See, it has the same spikeys on its legs.”
He turned it upside down and touched its back leg causing another hiss/squeak fit.
I tried to get the crazy sound on video, but it would not cooperate so I found a YouTube video of a stag beetle making the same sound.
The boys played with it for a little while longer while I watched on.
When they got bored with it, they put it back in the bug house and put the bug house on the picnic table.
I gathered up the books and told them I was going to go inside and fix dinner.
“Ok, could you take the bughouse in with you? I want to keep an eye on the beetle.”
Gulp.
Bugs in the garden
Learning on the trampoline
Beetles in the house
a pinch of homestead 