Our “Guess the Bug” and “Guess the Frog” winner is Ginger! Ginger writes in: the beetle is a Myllocerus Undatus, a native of Sri Lanka. Good work. I have always called it a Sri Lanka Weevil, but seeing how there are over 300 varieties of Weevil in Sri Lanka I will now call it Undatus. We learn together. If you have found this weevil in your landscape click on the links for more information, including treatment options.
The Undatus was first discovered in South Florida in 2000 making its presence known by chewing and multiplying at an incredibly fast rate. While the Undatus is feasting on the leafs of your plant its larvae has penetrated the soil and is feeding on the roots: Undatus Link
Ginger also Guessed the Frog as a Cuban Tree Frog which is correct.
Like the Undatus the Cuban Tree Frog is a non-native invasive pest with a ferocious appetite. I have seen a Cuban tree Frog eat a lizard twice its size with two orchestrated gulps and a peculiar grin when finished.
The Cuban tree frog has many different colors ranging from a bumpy green to a spotted brown. One distinguishing characteristic are the pads of the Cuban’s toe. The Cuban
toe pads are significantly larger than on the Florida Native Tree Frog. Ginger, we know you will enjoy the books and thanks for visiting OSR.
I am having a terrible problem with the Sri Lanka Weevil. How do I kill these. It seems to me that they are in the dirt and are very hard to get rid of. Please help me with this problem. They are killing my plants.
Hello Betty-to better help you, what type of trees/plants are they eating? Let us know so we can point you in the right direction, There is really no sure fire way to eliminate these little guys but you can set them back quite a bit. The best time to treat is during the days when they are up on the leaves, but you have to work fast because they fly off when they get disturbed.
Thanks,
Bart
I have 2 balsa trees and have these bugs eating the leaves! These trees are very special to me as I am taking care of them while my brother is deployed. He grew them from seeds and I’d really like to have them alive when he comes home!
How do I get rid of them??? I had them and most of my branches died several months ago. I trimmed the trees heavily and they recovered. I sprayed insecticide on the leaves, but that didn’t make much difference at all, they just came back after the spray was dried.
The eggs are in the soil??? These trees are in LARGE pots, so they are VERY heavy. These are not small trees, they are about 6 feet tall.
Hello Julie,
We would love to help you, Yes they do hatch in the soil, but so far the studies indicate they do not cause significant root damage. To better help solve whats going on. Take a look at the pots, are the roots growing through the pot? Does there seem like there is more room for the balsa to grow? If significant size roots are circling in the pot then that needs to be remedied as well by bumping the pot size up. If you can send a pic that would be great. send to admin@openspacerestoration.com atten: Bart
These weevils are taking over – eating my silver buttonwood trees (are 4 yrs old), oak trees (20 yrs old), Indian Hawthorne bushes, Gardenias, Pittosporum bushes, African
Iris. The Gardenias and Pittosporum have only been planted for 2 months, the
African Iris for a year.
I also have Bush Daisies, Plumbago, Pentas, Periwinkles (vincas) and trinettes
(dwarf sheffeleras) that are only 2 months old.
Sprayed with Sevin, sprinkled with a product around root perimeter made by Bayer
a year ago (around the Buttonwood trees), then this year, everything seems to be
getting eaten.
None of my neighbors have any!!!!! I dont understand why they are attacking all
my landscape.
Any suggestions and help to kill these and get rid of them is greatly appreciated.
Please reply to my e-mail address. Thank you. Kaaren
Sorry it took so long to reply, I have been out having a great time hiking and visiting friends and family in Northern California.
weevils are tricky to say the least, if your area is not too large, and you have a few minutes observe when the weevils are most active on your branches, most likely early mornings and late afternoons. Once you have figured out their routine, try the upside down umbrella trick while you gently shake the branch and any that fall out and into the umbrella dump into a bucket of water with antibacterial soap. On smaller plants you can take a few minutes to pick and dump the weevils in the water, this type of mechanical control is a little bit of work but you can put a dent in the population, you will never eliminate them completely with a pesticide, doing so may harm beneficial insects in your landscape as well but you can manage the damage.
I have these Sri Lanka Weevil (Undatus) on my Hong Kong Orchid tree. Can you please advise as to what i should do to get ride of them.? It is a large tree and these have eaten all the leave. I am afraid they will completly kill the tree. Help. I do have a dog in the yard and don’t want to do anything that would harm the dog. what are my options?
Ok got it. How large is the tree-the trunk in diameter at shoulder height and the overall canopy, that will give us an idea of the treatment method and
if you are in risk of losing the tree.
Thanks for finding us at OSR.