What is eating my Cannas?

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jminator22 Sierra Vista, AZ May 10, 2022

Planted some Canna Rhizome starts and something was eating the leaves and new sprouts. Does this look like rabbit damage?
I blocked any places that I thought rabbits could get in the yard, and sprayed with BT, and it has been a little better since then.

Something is also eating day lily sprouts, and recently ate a small sprout from a dahlia tuber. I have a lot of birds in my yard, including quail, and frequently see where they move the mulch away, but never seem to dig deep. Not sure if it could also be any kind of caterpillar/insect.

Let me know if you are able to tell or have any ideas.

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ZilyZily Castro Valley, CA May 10, 2022

Did you look at every inch of the backs? Pull the leaves apart as much as you can to see if any bug is hiding in the tight in between places. I would even go out at night to look at the front and backs to see if it is a night eater. I would have sprayed it with Bt. too first as it is nontoxic just see if there was an easy quick fix. If no new damage maybe you got them. I can't remember how fast I would do my 2nd dose.

Use the brand Thuricide or a similar one because that specific Bt gets leafrollers too which love canna leaves. Though I would think if you had leafrollers your damage would include holes too thru out the leaves and not just the nibbled edges.

If I didn't actually see the caterpillar itself, I always saw their little brown poo dots left on the leaves. They eat and poop as they go. If no poop, you must have something else dining.

On another note:
Have you ever heard of the canna virus that has raged thru the canna population? My understanding is they now have cannas that are resistant to it. I do wonder if your cannas have that by the looks of those leaves. Those broken lines are a telltale sign as well as that muddy color. My cannas that had it got worse and worse.
https://extension.okstate.edu/fact-sheets/plant-viruses-infecting-cannas.html

Google 'canna virus leaves' and look at all the ways it can manifest itself on the leaves. No 2 leaves will be the same.

I also found this thread discussing similarly nibbled leaves. Look at second post photo.https://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/773891/#post_4013344

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