Here are a few cool pics I took of a cicada a few days ago. It had just molted, so couldn’t move until it dried out. I’m sure it was less than happy to pose for these photos.
Archive for the ‘Insects’ Category
Cicada
Posted in Insects on July 16, 2011| Leave a Comment »
>Saving the Fall Harvest
Posted in caterpillar, pests on November 12, 2009| 1 Comment »
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I had seen a few holes in the leaves over the weekend, but didn’t think much of it. I should have known better and next season I will. By Wednesday morning things were getting out of hand. It’s amazing the damage a few little caterpillars can do. I believe that I would have lost all of the cabbage, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, and kholrabi if I had waited a few more days. I picked off all of the caterpillars I could find and then sprayed Bt all over everything. I think even the most damaged plants will pull through ok.
Cabbage
Another cabbage view
One of the culprits
>Soldier Bug Update
Posted in pests, stink bug on October 8, 2009| 1 Comment »
>Today I looked closer at what I thought were “Spined Solder Bugs”, which are beneficial insects. I found three of them sucking from a tomato. Well, I was thinking that it didn’t seem like a very beneficial thing to do so I took another look at the Texas Bug Book and found that they are stink bugs. So I now have the trifecta on my cherry tomato plants, Tomato Horn Worms, Leaf-Footed Bugs and Stink Bugs. I will try and get a picture tomorrow while I am removing them.
I like the Texas Bug Book but wish it was organized a little differently. It would be nice if there was an index that was organized by the type of plant the bug was found on. I find that I usually have to look through the entire book a few times before narrowing down the culprit.
>One of those Days
Posted in cutworm, okra, pests, recipes on October 7, 2009| Leave a Comment »
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Today I got home from work early enough to spend a few minutes in the garden. I wandered around only to find two new pests. It’s one of those days where you wonder why you even bother. Why don’t I just leave it to the professionals?
Here is where the cutworm laughed at my attempts to block him. I caught him in the act, stretching as far as possible to bite just above the straws I put in yesterday. I found a second one, but destroyed them both before taking pictures.
Here are the next culprits. I don’t know what they are, but would appreciate any help. I couldn’t find them in the Texas Bug Book. These little critters eat through the stems on the tomato plants. You can see the droopy end, completely cut off from nutrients. I may have to resort to some organic pesticides on these guys.
Why do I bother? Well … I just finished eating some sauteed okra. Simple olive oil, salt, pepper and whole okra. I also mixed in some zucchini and mushrooms. Mmmm! I agree with a friend of mine that plain old sauteed okra is just as good as fried, as long as you can handle a little slime.
>Bug Battles
Posted in leaf-footed bug, pests, squash-vine borer on June 7, 2009| Leave a Comment »
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This weekend I’ve been battling two bugs, the leaf-footed bug and the dreaded squash-vine borer. The squash vine borer took out half of my zucchini several weeks ago, but had not been near the pumpkin. I read that they prefer other squash to pumpkins, so I was hoping mine would go untouched. Unfortunately, no such luck. I did have SVBs take out pumpkins in the same bed last year, so there is always the chance that these came from an overwintering pupae. Just in case, I plan on avoiding pumpkins next year, since I only have one spot to plant 30 sq ft 🙂Â
We’re still getting tons of zucchini, so I’m happy with my little survivers. I check for SVB eggs several times a week and still find one or two each time. I’m just waiting for the day that they get past me and I lose another plant. In the meantime I’m just eating, sharing and attempting the zucchini world record. (completely by accident of course).
I’ve found the leaf-footed bugs on both my tomatoes an the pumpkins. They seem to prefer the romas. I believe it is because they have more places to hide. I killed about 10 yesterday. I kept a watchful eye for several hours, waiting for them to emerge. I even discovered two mating, which I put a quick stop to. The ones on the pumpkins are a lot easier to see.Â
Leaf-Footed Bug Nymph
I’m not to the point where I can squash a nasty bug w/ my bare hands, so here’s my weapon of choice. I grab the bug with the tongs, throw it on the ground and smash it with my shoe.Â
