Most of the info I have found on pill bugs - internet and otherwise - has been that they only eat dead vegetation I have personally watched the little buggers lined up munching on iris rizomes like they were ears of corn. You could see the marks as the group of them chowed down. (I was out with a flashlight and watched them eat) I have lost seedlings to them and most especially tender new hosta growth. I have a major infestation of the critters, which are more closely related to shrimp than to the usual garden pests. All I can say is from person experience- I know that although they are meant to be scavangers of dead and rotting material, they love tender new plant growth and will go after and destroy it. Jim and Erin Grace Thomasville, GA -----Original Message----- From: pbs-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:pbs-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Jim McKenney Sent: Thursday, September 06, 2007 11:15 PM To: 'Pacific Bulb Society' Subject: Re: [pbs] crickets #)($%&$$#&*(%! In the earlier post on this topic I blamed crickets. I got home late tonight and went out into the garden with a flashlight to check the colchicum. Evidently I blamed the wrong critter. Tonight I found the flowers covered with clusters of pill bugs (aka sow bugs and lots of other names; they are terrestrial crustaceans of the order Isopoda). I don't really know anything about the eating habits of sow bugs. Most sources describe them as eating dead vegetation. Maybe the pill bugs were only eating nectar. Something is chewing and eating the tepals of the colchicum right down to stubs. Ideas, anyone? Jim McKenney jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, USDA zone 7, where bottle gentians are blooming. My Virtual Maryland Garden http://www.jimmckenney.com/ BLOG! http://mcwort.blogspot.com/ Webmaster Potomac Valley Chapter, NARGS Editor PVC Bulletin http://www.pvcnargs.org/ Webmaster Potomac Lily Society http://www.potomaclilysociety.org/ _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.ibiblio.org http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/