What's eating my Sage!

[sheridand]

Over the past 3 days my sage has pretty much been eaten to stalks! the leaves are stripped eiether side of the centreal stalk. I can't see any critters at all! Any idea what rampant insect could be doing this in December? I have had it pretty mild, some of my herbs are still oout and about. The one culprit I though of was earwigs but i've not seen any about?

Any help gratefully received!

[Marc]

I can't tell you for sure, but maybe slugs or snails? Rabbits or deer? - if you're sure it's an insect then I'd guess moth caterpillars that live in the soil and come up at night. There seem to be ones that will eat almost anything.
Whatever, I would try going out in the evening with a torch to see if you can find any clues.

[boboff]

Carrot and corriander soup, but that's irrelevant right now, thanks for asking.............


(insert smiley to indicate joke)

[sheridand]

Right, i've been out there with a fine tooth comb, and even set the hens on the plant. They gave a good scratch round the base and found nothing. Lifting up leaves reveals no cocoons or anything, and no slugs or snails nearby. BUT: when lifting some leaves some VERY small pale green fly like insects leapt off the leaves and fell through the plant. Very tiny, very pale green, very alive and very good at leaping! Any ideas? Someone did mention thrips?

[sheridand]

http://www.hdc.org.uk/herbs/page.asp?id=3

Found it! Sage Leafhopper. Very little can be done to combat it. Grr.

[Marc]

Well done, at least it's good to know what it is!!
I've had lots of unexpected pest and disease problems this year, it's felt like assault from all directions...

[MKG]

Hmmmm ... where are you, Sheridand?

Mike

[sheridand]

Fenland. It's very mild here at the mo, I've still got flowering plants. Nothing seems to be dying! And that includes the pests......

[MKG]

Ah - I wondered. Those things should be dead or dormant by now, but you have a climate very similar to ours (low-lying land on the edge of old fens). We, too, still have flowering plants and, just today, I watched a huge bumble bee searching for food. We don't have the sage peril, but we certainly have still-burgeoning sage. I'll keep my eyes open next winter.

Mike

[sheridand]

It's crazy. Xmas day is so mild we still have bumble bees and I saw a Cabbage white yesterday! There are still leatherjackets and my hens haven't stopped laying yet. It's weird! We only moved to the Fens 3 years ago and I thought the first mild winter was a fluke, but it seems to be a theme. Mind you, when the wind blows, it BLOWS. Have you experienced a proper Fen blow yet?