Beauty and the beast

Every year I look forward to the blooming of this water plant. I'm not sure what it is called but it is really quite spectacular. This little dragonfly seems to agree.



Yesterday morning, the first two blooms opened up.



I call them spider lilies but I don't think they really have enough "legs" to be spiders. And then they are plants and not arachnids so they can't really be spiders at all. Really I have no reason whatsoever to call them spider lilies, but I do nevertheless.



From this angle, the plant resembles a petunia. However "water petunia" doesn't sound nearly so exotic as does "spider lily," and this plant is definitely exotic.



While the spider lily is stunningly beautiful, there is a beast in our garden, as well. Every July we are bombarded by these pesky insects known as Japanese beetles. This one is devouring my Cosmos. And what is that thing left in the center of the plant? Beetle dukies?



When I checked in on my pond plant yesterday afternoon it appeared to have been visited by a hungry invader. I am blaming this disfigurement on Japanese beetles.



The infiltration of these destructive insects has led to a new industry: bug bags. This one happens to belong to our neighbor. Apparently, the beetles are attracted to both the yellow bag hanger and to the scent inside, a scent that causes them to get loopy and fall into the bag.



These bugs are not only obnoxious but stupid, too. The two in the picture below are about to fall to their demise and don't even know it.

Disposing of these bags is nasty. When you get a gazillion of these bugs compressed like this the bag emits an unpleasant smell. If you haven't been to see any of the many depictions of "The Last Judgment" with Emilio in Roma, you can get the same impression by simply looking into one of these bags. I feel kind of bad for the little fellows who drown in the intoxicating aroma early on because I suspect they are crushed by those who arrive later.



Now it didn't seem fair to leave you with an image of a bag-o-bugs, so I'm closing with a pretty shot of my snap dragons and sweet alyssum. These plants are holding up well against both the oppressive heat and the Japanese beetles. I should remember to plant more of these next spring.