Who is Eating My Plum?

This was The Spring, the best we have had in years.

Cool temperatures and frequent showers allowed the woods

to fill with an array of flowers.  Beautiful Sweet Williams,

Dutchman's Breeches, trillium, may apples, phlox and blossoms 

galore on the peach and plum trees.  It was a hopeful site.  Our

plum has had only one year of fruit due to late frosts.

Now I am fighting worms and fruit damage.

I suppose that comes with not using spray.

I found this huge beetle yesterday.  I don't know if he is a culprit

or he is hunting the things that are damaging the tree.

You can see the leaf and fruit damage.

There are green worms that have rolled themselves

inside of the leaves.  Most of the plums have a hole in them.

I didn't want to use anything during the bloom.

I don't know what is good to use now, if it can be saved.

I can't get to my peach tree right now, not until my knee is better,

but I can tell it is loaded with small peaches.  Usually the ants

and deer or raccoon get them. They would have been magnificent

last year.  A bounty of fruit one day, leftover pits the next!

Let me know if you have any thoughts on the plum.

With our sketch internet I've been lucky to upload photos this 

morning.  I don't know if this will save.

In the meantime I will pull out my bug book with the color plates

and see if the beetle is a good guy or bad.