The Garden Invader

I'm staying with Mum and Dad in their Essex village this weekend as it's Father's Day tomorrow, and we met up with my sister Susan for lunch today. It's always good to see her, as I don't live near her either.

When we got back, I had a wander round Dad's garden and noticed a couple of small beetles on one of Dad's lavender clumps, about the size of a ladybird but darker and very iridescent and shiny. It's called the Rosemary Beetle (Chrysolina americana), and it has arrived from Southern Europe and invaded the UK in the last ten years or so. It damages rosemary, lavender and thyme, so Dad will need to pick them off by hand - it's not recommended to spray insecticide because of the danger to bees which forage on these plants.

I'm a bit worried as I write this, because Mum has started to feel very unwell and dizzy with a Ménière's attack. They increase in severity as the condition progresses, and as Mum is now 87 she takes longer to recover and finds them very debilitating. She's tucked up in bed resting now, and I'm hoping she'll be feeling much better tomorrow.