Brazilian Skipper

...leaning to negative. I have put a lot of thought and effort towards creating a friendly butterfly habitat and do not mind the shredded look of cat-ravaged plants. But the canna is different--it seems to take longer to recover and therefore, if it is in a visible area, it's gonna be an ugly sight. I may either transplant the cannas to a less visible area or set up a "do not touch this canna" sign. Think they might heed the sign???

I've been battling this insect for well over 8 years now. Prior to that, my Wyoming Cannas hit 15' tall. Since the infestation, I'm lucky to get them up to 8' tall. If I miss even one year of treatment, they rapidly expand in numbers and shred every canna on the farm. Which is a significant number considering I probably have 1/4 acre total of them.

Bayer systemic is not effective for control (Icopronid I think is how the active ingredient is spelled) and since I'm more of a 'limit the chemical use/pollution' type gardner and that particular systemic is indicative in the Bee colony collapse disorder - I don't recommend it for much more than Cucurbita crops.

A touch of Sevin mixed with Dove hand washing detergent seems the most effective - I tried this in '07 a... read morend had a significant decline in the insects. This year, I'm testing the idea of just using Dove through the month of June this year. I'll tell you all how it goes..

I was delighted to find the Brazilian Skipper chrysalids on my daughters cannas. I carefully cut the leaves they were rolled in to bring home and observe their eclosing. When I unrolled the leaf to look at the chrysalis there was a bit of protest in the form of rapid vibrations inside the leaf. They are so lively with so much personality.
I will be planting cannas next year just for them. I will plant them in the back yard because I expect they will show signs of being eaten, if not be completely defoliated. They are so worth it, a real cinderella story.