Garden Pests and Diseases: Friend or Foe?, 1 by Night_Bloom

Night_Bloom wrote:
oops - I forgot to answer paani's grub question...

Some "C" shaped grubs are harmless. The problem is, it's not easy for someone without a stereozoom microscope to tell which are harmful and which are harmless. All "C" shaped larvae are generally plant or organic matter feeders though, so at least you aren't squashing any predators.

And I applaud your patience in sticking out the aphids without using insecticides. The hose should work for you, and now that you've got some mummies, they should only increase. It might still be a bit cool for your lady beetles though - have you seen any lady beetle larvae yet?


margu - my book for caterpillars of western forests is at work - but I'll check it tomorrow and see if you guys have any black fuzzy caterpillars in your area - I seem to remember that there was at least one or two. It is ironic that I have a book for western caterpillars, but not one for eastern caterpillars while you found a site for eastern ones - hee. I'm not sure of the logic of the person who had my job before me, but fortunately I have websites for my eastern caterpillars all book-marked for me. And the western one does help to at least get in the right family area. I would guess that your little wooly guy is probably some kind of Arctiidae - those are moths, but some can be quite lovely in coloration.

An example of an Arctiidae moth we have in Georgia...