What no Honeysuckle flowers?

I have a couple of nice clumps of Honeysuckle that I’ve planted in the garden, mainly to attract moths in (including Broad-bordered bee hawk which lays eggs on one of the plants every year). This year, I noticed that the prolific flower buds were not opening but seemed to be wilting. Hardly any flowers have actually opened. A close inspection revealed small round holes bitten into the blooms, and other more discoloured ones filled up with caterpillar frass. Further checking soon revealed the culprits, some small pale coloured caterpillars feeding within the buds and also on the flower bases (see photo). These are the larvae of Alucita hexadactyla, and I’m not too surprised there are so many as the adult moth was very common around the plants earlier this year. Something to look out for if your own Honeysuckle is looking a bit sorry for itself!

Neil

Alucita hexadactyla larva on flower base.

Alucita hexadactyla larva on flower base.

 

Wilted Honeysuckle flowers with holes

Wilted Honeysuckle flowers with holes

 

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