A pest control sales guy stopped by yesterday. (He traveled the neighborhood on an electric powered skateboard.) He was reluctant to leave, requesting a word with the husband following Barbara’s negative responses after he discovered multiple colonies of ants between flagstones in the front walk. I would have ended the sales call quickly, telling him that I like ants and any other beasts he was working to eradicate. My wife despises ants that routinely get into the house, but I’m happy that she’s willing to handle that issue indoors and not to chance killing insects that I’ve invited into the garden.

I notice that aphids that routinely invade the milkweeds (above) shortly after flowering are absent so far. I watch in wonder as small beetles arrive as the aphid population increases, and in their absence I wonder what natural process keeps them away. The aphids do no permanent damage to the milkweeds. This summer I’ve been more careful not to weed out seedlings.

The small white sawfly larvae have completed their defoliation of large yellow and red twigged dogwoods (above). I expect a portion of the dogwoods’ leaves will return, and besides their current naked appearance, no harm is done to the vigorous shrub. I wonder where the many hundreds of larvae go to move on to the next phase of their lifecycle.

I suspect that I’ve again exceeded the durability of the deer repellent sprayed sometime in June. I vaguely recall thinking that the next application should be in early July, and now it’s nearly the end of the month. In any case, the bit of munching so far is minimal. When foliage dries after the recent thunderstorms I’ll spray a new repellent brand that promises six month protection. If this works, the deer will be disappointed but hostas will be happy to have more consistent protection.

I don’t know what’s happened to the rascally rabbits that regularly vandalized the garden through the spring. Certainly, they eat something, but I notice only severed stems, usually of newly planted perennials with the evidence left behind. I’d be more sympathetic if the plants were eaten, and with the appearance of smaller bunnies I feared their increase in numbers. Now, where have they gone?

I recently noticed a few Japanese beetles feasting on the large hibiscus in the lower rear garden. This tall perennial is the magnet that attracts the beetles, but after riddling the hibiscus’ leaves with holes, the beetles have moved on. Or, perhaps the resident birds did the work.