Asylum seeker

I was so entranced by these beetles last year that I left them alone when they appeared on my Rosemary and Lavender bushes. The rosemary beetle (Chrysolina americana) originates from southern Europe and found its way to Britain in the mid-1990s. The larvae and adults feed on the foliage of rosemary and related plants and it is now considered to be a pest. This year I've seen a few more in the garden, but I've not noticed any significant damage to any of the plants. It is such a beautiful beetle I'm ignoring all the advice to use horrible chemicals on it. If we get a really hard winter, I guess that might hold numbers in check. If not, then I may need to control numbers by hand next year. I'm willing to risk it.