*Sensitivity WARNING* (dead butterfly) - Calling garden lepidopterists for I.D.

[UTUSN]

So a few weeks ago a mob of crows were daily mobbing and making a ruckus on my cannas, and (coincidentally? ) the big generous leaves were in shreds, which I assumed was the crows' result. A DUer informed that, yes, crows are omnivorous and tasty leaves are very possible menu items, which is why scarecrows exist in cornfields.

But after a couple of weeks the crows had mostly dispersed, yet there appeared to be dark colored (butterflies? moths? ) congregating on the cannas in the mornings. It crossed my mind that these might (also? mainly? ) be the culprits, because the leaves continued or increased being in shreds.

These things don't fly like fluttering butterflies, they sort of swoop like wasps. And they have four wings, big and little on each side. Huge eyes. Any lepidopterists know whether they are the ones feasting? Or having offspring to chew away? I assume the leaves will eventually be replaced by new growth.

Apologies for having sacrificed one.

[Arne]

1. Don't let one into your closet.

Ask me how I know.

[UTUSN]

6. So they're moths, eh.

[Ocelot II]

2. It's a moth of some kind, maybe this one?

Diastictis ventralis? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diastictis_ventralis

[UTUSN]

5. Look very similar.

[Cirsium]

3. A Skipper

That is a Skipper. The exact species is difficult to determine there are so many and the differences between them can be so subtle. They are not eating your plants.

Japanese beetles (Popillia japonica) would be my guess.

[UTUSN]

4. Do beetles fly? Stay put on the leaves? I don't see any critters on the leaves.

[Ocelot II]

10. Japanese beetles do fly. It might be a little late in the year for them, though,

depending on where you are, since by now they will have reproduced and died - they are usually gone by mid-August. Adult moths are mostly nectar feeders that don't chew up leaves; it's the caterpillars that do the most leaf damage. Something besides moths is probably eating those leaves.

[Cirsium]

14. Both

They fly but they also congregate on the foliage.

The more diverse the native insect and spider populations in your yard the more likely it is that any problems will be self-correcting. We have robust populations of predatory insects, spiders, reptiles, amphibians and nesting song birds, along with the native plats that support that life. That keeps things more balanced. The typical landscaping approach creates a vacuum into which alien plants and insects move.

[chia]

7. I wonder if the crows were feasting on the moths? The biggest destructors of my cannas were grasshoppers.

[UTUSN]

8. Don't know, DUer said crows eat anything. Can't remember the last time I've seen a grasshopper.

[chia]

9. I'd agree with the DUer, considering the weird food debris crows leave in my birdbath. 😳

As for the moths, my uneducated guess is maybe those moths laid eggs on your leaves and the hatched caterpillars ravaged your leaves. I don't think moths eat leaves.

At least that's what happened to my liquid ambar trees, from these:

red humped caterpillar, and the moth it turns into/comes from:




Moth at this link, couldn't get it to post directly:

https://i.postimg.cc/RC3h0HvF/temp-Image2r-X4hy.avif

[UTUSN]

11. Thanks, will check the link. As I say, no critters are visible on the leaves.

[chia]

13. Crows probably like eating caterpillars too! But understand you're not seeing anything else. 👍

I'll have to check back here later and see if you've found out what the moths are. Good luck, sorry about your poor cannas. :/

[Annie Moosee]

12. damage to leaves kinda

looks more like grasshopper/ cricket damage.

japanese beetles tend to make leaves look like lace, although both will make leaves look holely.

[Donkees]

15. Excerpt: Canna Leafroller damage (photos at link)

https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/image/IN289/Dthgs3ofkj/Dzzsn8y0os/Dzzsn8y0os-1650.webp
Canna leaf damage caused by larvae of the larger canna leafroller, Calpodes ethlius (Stoll).

Flowering canna plants (several species of Canna) make beautiful additions to the landscape in Florida home gardens and on public or commercial property. Cannas are easy to grow, have few disease problems, and produce lush tropical-looking foliage and showy colorful flowers. However, cannas can be decimated by leaf-chewing insects, such as grasshoppers and leaf-rolling caterpillars. Two caterpillars in particular are very destructive to canna in Florida, the larger canna leafroller, Calpodes ethlius (Stoll), whose adult form is variously called the Brazilian skipper, the canna butterfly, or the arrowroot butterfly (Moore 1928), and the lesser canna leafroller, Geshna cannalis (Quaintance).


https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/IN289

[UTUSN]

16. Thanks, good info. Put them in couple yrs no probs till now.

Learned about deadheading and thining out. Hoping the current plague rides out.

[Donkees]

17. In your region, overwintering pupae can hide within canna stems

so it's recommended to cut the plants down to the ground and discard. Here in the north, cannas don't survive winter and the tubers have to be dug, divided, and stored.