Hi! I have a problem with cutter bees They go into the growing point and kill the plants, like my Water Lettuce and Hyacinth. I cannot find the cutter bee nest for removal. I need to know if I can put any kind of inecticide spray on my remainig frogbit that won't foul the water for the Lotus. I read how Lotus are sensitive to chemicals, and I also saw an insecticide that says it is good for pond plants and fish. Any ideas?
Thanks!
Lesley

I do not know of any true insecticide that will not also harm your fish and other pond animals. I have a few natural products that are safe outside the pond but not right in it. My section for bees outside the pond is at http://www.fishpondinfo.com/pcare.htm#wasp

I'm am not familiar with cutter bees. I don't think we have them here in MD. Here are some useful links that I found:

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/plantan...cutterbees.html which says that you can't control the cutting and to instead cover the plants (easier said than done in a pond!). They also say they are solitary which is why you can't find a colony of them. They live in tunnels I guess in rotting wood.

http://crawford.tardigrade.net/bugs/BugofMonth23.html
http://www.vanderwoning.ca/archives/2004/0...eafcutters.html

Apparently, they are in general thought to be beneficial, not likely to sting, and even sold for pollination purposes. I also found a site where they hate them and want to spray all sorts of toxins (I didn't put up that link!).

Yes, I know about these cutter bees. They decimated my 3 lilac bushes, cutting away the leaves until there was nothing left and the plants died. Very sad since I had them for 10 years and they were huge and very fragrant in the spring... :(
The problem is that they can travel for miles and I have not been able to find their nests to save my lilacs this year, but now they are infesting my floating plants. The bees are very gentle, I work in my plants daily and they are fine, but now all my water lettuce and hyacinths are dead and they are working on the frogbit. They cut away the growth points. I won't get any more floating plants, too bad since they keep my pond so clean, but there are products in the pond stores that they say don't harm plants or fish. I hesitate with all my blooming lotus right now. I have to say that in spite of their gentleness, I am not a fan of these bees after seeing them kill the plants at my house and netting doesn't stop them; they are tiny and it would have to be like a cheesecloth type of netting. That is impossible. I was hoping there was some kind of repellent...
Thanks always for your help,
Lesley