Meet the Bumble Flower Beetle: A Quirky Visitor in Your Denver Garden
Is it a bee? A Japanese beetle? NOPE! It’s a Bumble Flower Beetle!!
Meet the bumble flower beetle, a quirky little visitor that might just make you do a double-take.
These beetles are brown, less than an inch long, and have spots on their little butts. They sound like bees buzzing through your garden, but they eat decaying matter instead of pollen. They’re advantageous beetles, so you may see them devouring your plants, but I swear - they didn’t do the damage themselves!
In this blog, you’ll learn:
Identifying the Bumble Flower Beetle
The Life Cycle of a Bumble Flower Beetle
How to Manage Bumble Flower Beetles in Your Garden
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Identifying a bumble Flower Beetle
Bumble flower beetles are small, brown, and less than an inch long, with distinctive spots on their backsides.
They buzz around your garden, sounding like bees, but they’re actually after decaying organic matter, not pollen. Although they may occasionally nibble on your plants, rest assured, they aren’t the ones causing the damage.
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Photo Credit: Utah State University
The Life Cycle of a Bumble Flower Beetle
Bumble flower beetles have a pretty interesting lifestyle. In the fall, these beetles burrow into the soil, cozying up for the long winter. When spring arrives, they wake up, stretch their legs, and get down to business.
The ladies start looking for the perfect spot to lay their eggs, and they’re pretty picky—they go for moist, decaying organic matter like manure, rotten wood, or even your compost pile. The baby beetles, or larvae, munch away on this decaying goodness, helping to break it down.
Occasionally, they’ll sneak a nibble on the roots of container plants, but they’re mostly harmless.
As they grow up, these larvae (that look an awful lot like Japanese beetle grubs) dig little chambers in the soil where they transform into adult beetles.
Come mid-summer, they’re back in action, and this time they’re on the hunt for sweet treats. Whether it’s ripening corn, juicy fruits like apples and grapes, or the nectar of sunflowers and daylilies, these beetles know how to find the good stuff.
As the weather cools down, they head back underground for their winter retreat, ready to do it all over again next year.
Keeping Bumble Flower Beetles in Check
While these beetles are more like garden party crashers than serious pests, they can sometimes cause a little damage by snacking on your corn or fruit. But don’t fret—here’s how you can keep them in check:
Tidy Up the Garden: Clear away compost piles or decaying organic matter near your crops to give them fewer places to lay eggs.
Harvest on Time: Keep your garden clean by picking fruits and veggies as they ripen, and remove any damaged produce to avoid attracting beetles.
Play Beetle Catcher: If you see adult beetles hanging out on your plants, just pick them off and drop them into a bucket of soapy water.
Feed the Birds: Chickens and birds love bumble flower beetle grubs. If you find them in your soil, just toss them out for the birds to nibble.
By understanding these bumble flower beetles and their habits, you can keep your garden buzzing along while letting these quirky critters do their thing—without letting them steal the show!
pro tip!!!
If you find grubs in the soil - look for the adult beetle! That will help you know what type of grub it is.
Understanding the habits of bumble flower beetles can help you maintain a healthy garden while allowing these beneficial insects to do their work. They may be quirky, but with a few simple steps, you can ensure they don’t overstay their welcome!
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Meet the Gardener
I’m Elisa Mack - a mom and Denverite who went from being a green-ish thumb to a kitchen garden fanatic simply by dedicating myself to the study of all things Colorado gardening.
Landscapers don’t design. And nurseries don’t make house calls.
We take a more full-service approach, from designing your dream garden to keeping it beautiful year-round.
And as your coach, I’ll help eliminate the guesswork through every season, no matter your level of knowledge.
