The Long Hot Days Of Summer Are Here!

It's only a few days into summer, and already, it is living up to its name. It has been hot, and humid. But, as with any season, to be happy, we must enjoy each season for what it is, for as with life, it will quickly pass.

I thought I would share some summertime poetry, and also blog about a bug I have heard about, but know little of until now, The June Bug. What is it about the summertime that lifts our spirits? Here are some reasons expressed in poetry. Hope you enjoy it.

The Month Of June

The month of leaves and roses,
When pleasant sights salute the eyes
And pleasant scents the noses."- Nathaniel Parker Willis
-
"June brings tulips, lilies, roses,
Fills the children's hands with posies."- Sara Coleridge
-
"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day
listening to the murmur of water,
or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of
time." - John Lubbock


- "A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken."- James Dent


This poem is especially dedicated to my blogging friends at Birds of A Feather.

-

When On A Summer's Morn

"When on a summer's morn I wake, And open my two eyes,
Out to the clear, born-singing rills
My bird-like spirit flies.
-
To hear the Blackbird, Cuckoo, Thrush,
Or any bird in song;
And common leaves that hum all day
Without a throat or tongue.
-
And when Time strikes the hour for sleep,
Back in my room alone,
My heart has many a sweet bird's song --
And one that's all my own."- William Henry Davies,

-
What Are June Bugs?



June bugs are ugly suckers! They have spiny legs and that feels strange when they land on you. One night while we were outside they were landing all over us (A few years ago). These were the Brown June Bug. Green June Bugs are a little later in the spring and appear in May or June. Green June Beetles fly around in the day and the brown ones fly at night.

Habitat & Lifecycle

June bugs are found everywhere in North America and many other parts of the world. The larvae is a white to yellow grub. They have rows of stiff short hair to aid them in movement. They overwinter as grubs deep in the soil (lawn) and move to the surface in the spring to feed. Green June Beetles mature in June and become adults in early July. One generation per year.
Females lay eggs in late summer. Adults of the Brown June Bug emerge in the spring. They are nocturnal. Lifecycle is three years.

Diet & Damage

When they are adults June Bugs do little damage, however get rid of them since after they lay their eggs in the soil and your lawn the grubs do a lot of damage! Adult june bugs eat leaves of walnut, oak, and foilage from many plants. The grubs feed on organic matter in the soil and damage grass in your lawn as they eat the roots. They will eat roots of your ornamentals, weed roots and other seedling roots, corn, roses and potatoes. Lawn grasses wilt and turn brown and will eventually die from root loss.


How To Control June Bugs

Milky Spore Disease Milky Spore is a naturally occurring bacterium (Bacillus popillae-Dutky) that will get rid of June bugs organically. It works on many common lawn grubs including June Bug & Japanese Beetle larvae and doesn’t harm earthworms. You sprinkle it on your lawn like grass seeds just before a rain or water it well into the soil for 15 minutes or longer right after you put it down. Don’t mow your grass until the Spore has been watered into the soil. Milky Spore has been known to last 15 years or more with only one treatment!

Grub-Away® Nematodes – are beneficial nematodes applied to lawns and gardens. They control numerous soil dwelling pests, including borers, cutworms, flea larvae, weevils and maggots.
Small Mammals & BirdsSkunks, armadillos and other small mammals will often be seen pulling back the turf in search of grubs. Bears have been know to do this as well but not usually in your gardens as a rule. Birds are great control on lawns….attract them with bird baths. Your chickens will also eat them but they’ll eat the grass too so it would be wise to only have them eating away in your orchards.

Hand Pick

If you see any damage, dig around in the soil or lift pieces of turf and destroy the grubs when you find them. Collect the beetles in the morning when they are not very active and destroy. You will find them on many plants and they are easy to shake them off. A flashlight in the evening will attract them and you can destroy them using stomp method or drop in hot soapy water.
-
Ensure a Healthy LawnCut your grass higher in the summer as beetles prefer to lay their eggs in short grass. Keep your lawns well-drained and aerated. In the spring don’t water your lawns too often to ensure deep root growth.
-
I am hoping to add some pictures to this blog, as soon as I figure out how to do it.
-
I came across this cute poem about a June Bug. I hope you find time to read it as it really is cute.
-
They call me a June Bug, But I don't come in June
They really should call me a May Bug
I fly all night looking for a light
A little romance and then love
-
I'm the June Bug of another's dream
Yeah, I'm the one that's on your screen
I'm the one that comes in the hundreds
The one you step over with your feet
-
I'm a June Bug, A June Bug
I'm roly poly round
Looking for love, Yeah, looking for love
And I know it's flying around
-
I spend seven years in that ground
And all I ever am is a Grub
Of course when I climb out of that hole
I wanna find me a little bug love
-
You want to see my buddies?
Well, just keep that light burning bright
We will come in the thousands
And visit you all night
-
We come up from the ground
At night we can be found
We visit you in the month of May
And all night we hang around
-
You want to know just why
We don't move when you come outside?
Well, that's because a Bug named Fred
Told us all to pretend we died
-
We come up from the ground
All we want is a little Bug love
But I tell you that ain't easy
Sometimes it's just real tough
-
I saw Sam the Bug the other day
Flying straight for a big head light
I guess he liked it quite a lot
Because he is still there and bright
-
Poor Arnold the Bug, Well, I don't know
He is stuck on someone's shoe
We tried to tell him but he had listened to Fred
That Bug just wouldn't move
-
You think you've got troubles
Well, let me just tell you
You don't know the half of it
Til a shoe comes down on you

All we want is a little love
Although we come in the month of May
They call me a June Bug
-
A June Bug, A June Bug
I'm roly poly round
Looking for love, Yeah, looking for love
And I know it's flying around!

This is Raven-as the crow flies