What's eating my nymphaea 'director george t. moore'?

Nymphaea 'Director George T. Moore' is a tropical water lily susceptible to water lily aphids, water lily beetles, and leaf-cutter damage. As a tropical variety it is often grown in warmer pond settings where aphid pressure can be intense in summer. Fish, manual removal, and water jets are the key controls.

Dense black-brown colonies on pads and flower stems cause leaf puckering, honeydew deposits, sooty mold, and reduced flowering on tropical varieties. Blast colonies into the water with a hose so fish can eat them. Remove severely infested pads. Avoid all chemical sprays in pond water.

Larvae graze channels on the upper leaf surface leaving brown, decaying tracks that cause pads to become waterlogged and sink. Hose beetles and larvae off pads. Fish will consume them. Remove and destroy worst-affected pads before adult beetles lay eggs.

Oval leaf-fragment cases cut from pad surfaces create irregular holes; heavily affected pads rot and sink, reducing surface coverage. Hand-pick cases and larvae. Submerging the pot for 24 hours drowns larvae. Encourage fish presence as biological control.