Friend or Foe #2

Regarding my gigantic black bumblebee; the closest I can get to it on the web so far is this: http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?stat=BROWSE&query_src=photos_fauna_sci-Insect&where-lifeform=Insect&where-taxon=Bombus+californicus&where-ordr=Hymenoptera
called a 'bombus californicus'. But I cannot find a picture of a solid black bumblebee anywhere, although many of the sites say they are sometimes solid black. I'll just have to try to get a picture of one of the buggers.

By the way, the site where I got this info has some great information, insect and otherwise, lots of pics:

http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/photos/fauna/sci-Insect.html

New question NB: how about earwigs? I have lots in my garden, and although they are ugly little suckers, I guess they are harmless. I can only find information about them saying that they are scavengers. Are they good for the garden?

Here are some pics of earwigs, for those of you fortunate enough to have never seen one.
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?stat=BROWSE&query_src=photos_fauna_sci-Insect&where-lifeform=Insect&where-taxon=Forficula+auricularia&where-ordr=Dermaptera

What kind of bug is this one? It has a red head with black dots and black antenae and solid black back. It is about the size of a ladybug

-Kim

margu - many earwigs are cosmopolitan eaters, meaning that in addition to organic matter, they also prey on small insects and mites and/or their eggs and pupae. The earwig mothers are surprisingly maternal, usually guarding their eggs and even staying to feed the nymphs for a few days after they have hatched and until they are big enough to start eating on their own.


bluekat - I'm sorry to say that it is difficult to tell from that picture exactly what you've got. My best guess would be that it is some kind of leaf beetle (family Chrysomellidae), but I'm sorry that that isn't much to go on as that is a very large family of beetles there. I would keep an eye on it to see if it gets any friends, and then if so, I'd see what they were up to - hee. One or two shouldn't be much to worry about I suspect though. I get a few plant munchers that I basically like to watch because they don't seem to do too much damage. Here's an example...

This is not a good bug, but as long as they don't get too numerous, I don't mind, because I think they are beautiful. You can't see it here, but when the sun hits these tortoise beetles (family Chrysomellidae) they shine brilliantly like golden jewels even when you are a few feet away.

Here's another species...

And last one.

Tomorrow we shall return to "good bugs", I promise, but another time I shall also give you a picture of the caterpillar from the long-tailed skipper above. It eats bean leaves and makes a home out of a part of the leaf.

Thanks Night - I think you are right, he looked like this:
http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/cropprot/clbeetle.htm

-Kim

Okay - as promised, some more beneficial insects. Tonight, I have a few wasps. I already posted a picture of a yellowjacket with a piece of insect it had caught, but there are numerous kinds of predatory wasps. Here are two.

The first is a sphecid wasp from the family Sphecidae which contains a few kinds of predatory wasps that prey on various insects and spiders. One kind (I don't have a picture yet of this one) is sometimes called a spider hunter, because it specializes in grabbing spiders out of their webs. These will sometimes be put in little mud "pots" - giving them their other common name "mud daubers". These wasps have very long thin waists.

This is another common kind of sphecid wasp. This one digs a tunnel in the sand and provisions it with insects. Here is a common kind digging a tunnel in my garden.

This is a paper wasp of the family Vespidae. These are the wasps that often build open nests in eaves of homes. Unlike the wasp above, these wasps can be aggressive if their nest is threatened, but in general, when they are out alone hunting, they won't sting unless threatened (i.e. swatted or hit at). Like the wasp above, they especially like crickets and caterpillars (non-fuzzy or spiny caterpillars).

Wasp, protector of my Bok Choy :-D

Hi NB and all. Hey NB, remember that red spider I mentioned digging up in my garden? Well, that first picture of the tunnel digger wasp sure looks like it, except I really don't think it had wings. And from what I can gather, these wasps dig in sandy soil, and mine is more clay. But do they ever NOT have wings at some point in their lives? Could it have been some kind of wasp? I've had trouble identifying it as a spider.

Ah ha. I just read on a site that in some wasp species one sex may be wingless. So perhaps my 'spiders' are wasps?

margu - most wasps prefer sandy soil, but they will dig in soil with a bit of clay too. If you look carefully at the soil in my picture above, you will notice some usual "Georgia red clay" characteristics despite my tilling. It does however, take them a bit of work - sometimes you'll here them buzzing away as they dig, and they often sound "mad" - hee.

As for your reddish critter - does it look like this? I didn't remember you mentioning hair, but some species of these don't have hair all this hair either. If it does look like your critter, watch out. This is a female velevet ant (family Mutillidae). She is a great wingless wasp predator, but she will sting if handled, and it's a pretty nasty sting from what I've heard.

Besides my picture below, here's a link to pictures of a bunch of different velvet ants - and many of these are not furry... http://bugguide.net/node/view/159/bgimage

Tamara - yes mine too until my poor bok choy went to seed early. I planted plants this year instead of seeds to get a head start (so I could plant later season stuff in the same spot later), but we got some late cold weather this year and it got my bok choy. I got quite a few good stir fries out of them, butthey didn't last as long as they should have.

Now the waps keep watch over my turnips and lettuce.

NB~Mine was going to seed, while I thought it was making a head LOL! So I went ahead and cut it, left the center, hope it makes seed for me. It grew well, and was very tolerable of heat and cold. I think it was going to seed because it was full size (over 2 feet wide). My other cabbages are full of holes, those wasps better get to work!

Question about that red headed black beetle? What do they like to eat. Theere were a couple dozen on my floating row cover under which there is corn, radishes, cosmos, and marigold (and a few weeds I am sure). I saw some flea beetle like holes in some radishes the were sticking out from under the row cover, but I also saw two or three flea bettles. Got me to thinking, maybe the red-headed ones were nymphs of beneficial something or others?

Gonna go back and find that photo to make sure it is the same critter. There weren't much larger than the flea beetles, but I could see their little antennae...

NB; I checked out that site with the velvet ants, I don't think it's one of them, but I could be wrong. The reason it looked so much like the wasp is that it had that kind of wet 'transparent' look to it like the legs on the wasp. I haven't dug one up yet this year. Do the digger wasps lay their eggs (or whatever they do) in the dirt? Also, one of those giant black bumblebees has been buzzing around my window lately, I can't see any color on him at all, but he won't stay still for a photo, the little blighter!

hey all: just want to voice a humble "cool thread!" and thanks for all the wisdom, Night_Bloom...it sort of makes me want to check on my plants right now in the dark. Sort of. It also sort of makes me want to wear a kevlar suit to go weeding tomorrow.
Just an idle question - why would a bug want to be as shiny as that tortoise beetle? doesn't that just make him easier for the birds to find, or whoever else eats him?

fiatluxury - That's a good question. My guess is that like many beetles in that family, they don't taste very good to birds. As for other critters, I think the answer is in their shape. That "shell" that is shiny, also serves as protection. It covers over everything on the beetle including the antennae if the bettle pulls them in. They also have little gripping feet so when they clamp down on the leaf, the shell covers everything and makes them difficult to pick off the leaf surface. That shell and "ducking" behavior is why they are called tortoise beetles.


Just a couple quick ones tonight - I mentioned that the caterpillar of that long-tailed skipper above eats bean leaves. Here's what it looks like. The large head is typical of many skipper butterflies, and when the caterpillar is disturbed it "flicks" this head at you in an attempt to startle.

And here is what the caterpillar's home looks like. The caterpillar above was inside this leaf home. It stays inside during the day and comes out at night to eat. This particular home was on my pole beans at the time. Because it rolls the leaf to make its home, the caterpillars are called bean leaf rollers.

I'm so excited! After seeing the image of the lady beetle larvae on the previous thread, we've been spotting them all over the place along with the more easily recognized adults. This one was on our apple tree today.

Still in search of my red spotted bumblebee for you, NB. Now that the daytime temps are predicted to soar up into the 80s, I'm bound to catch one soon. :)

Donna

Night_Bloom, you are most awesome to take the time to do this!! I have not had the time to read thru both threads yet, but do plan to. (maybe I'll print them out!) Your generosity is a benefit to everyone!

Now, one of my questions...is this a true Cucumber beetle? It's on everything (almost) except my son's veggie garden.

KB~ I think that reminds me of an asparagus beetle, can't wait to see what NB has to say... there are so many kinds of cucumber beetles...
Donna~ That is a beautiful picture, I have never seena ladbug larvae that color, WOW!

NB~ Today I uncovered (literally rolled over a 4x4 edging) three bugs that looked like soldier beetles. I almost squashed them, because they look so much like squash bugs. But I noticed that they didn't run away. And they were by the tomatoes. So I picked one up and tried to get a glimpse of his eating apparatus, so to speak. I sure hope I got this one right.... He had a long thing, back 1/3 down his abdomen, so that makes him the bug eating bug, not the plant eating one? I am almost scared to look back at the other thread to see if I got it backwards or not... Suppose if I am wrong, they will still be there tomorrow to be squished. Oh, and they had tiny red marking too.

And today, my kids found another bug that i set free, in hopes that it is a tiger beetle. Have you posted a pic of one of those yet? They are pretty large, with legs apread out. And three thin yellow stripes across the middle body segment. Sure hop these are good guys.

When I was mowing today, I had to keep calling my son over to rescue lady bugs. Funny, they were all the round-pregnant-looking type. And they didn't know to move off the blade of grass I was about to shred up! Why don't they move? I realize they are predators, but there are plenty of things that eat them as well? Are these big ones just slow or something?

Keep this great thread going forever!

Tamara

*curious to find out about the pregnant looking ladybugs*

Well, I have been told that lady bugs never actaully increase in size. So they are probably just a certain species that is very, shall we say "round"? OK, I will just they, that to me, they look FAT! Like more than a half circle, almost a sphere.... Wish I had a camera that took decent bug photos...

konkreteblonde - uh oh. They look like cucumber beetles (spotted cucmber beetle - Diabrotica undecimpunctata) to me. You are seeing the adults on the flowers, because the larvae hang out in roots of plants, especially cucurbits and corn. If you want something not too lasting, try something with pyrethrins (not pyrethroids - though they also aren't too bad, but will be longer lasting). Make sure to hit the cucmber beetles directly. This should work with minimal damage to harmless bugs. You'll likely hit a few good bugs in the process, but it can't be helped, and hopefully most will escape.

Tamara - I don't have time to post a picture tonight, but if your beetles are large, they are probably regular ground beetles (family Carabidae). Tiger beetles are a special group within the Carabidae. I posted an adult Tiger beetle picture about 3/4 the way down the first thread - right above the soldier beetles. Soldier beetles by the way have chewing mouthparts. It is the spined soldier bug that has the beak and it will be a fat beak - see the second post on the first thread.

If I remember correctly, lady beetles taste bad to birds and most predators. That means they don't have to be very fast.

Here's a link to pictures of ground beetles - Carabidae - the larger ones are called caterpillar hunters. There are several pages of pictures here, so look at a few to see if any look like your beetle.

Link - http://bugguide.net/node/view/186/bgimage

I'll be back Tuesday night/early Wednesday morning, hopefully with pictures to post this time.

Wait, before you go, i meant to ask about those things that swim on top of and under the water? I didn't dump the kids wading pool, cause the wind was coming up, and now there are some. If they eat mosquitos, would that make the pool a good trap for mosquitos?

Edited to add, here is a pic of the "fat" lady bug, a seven-spotted one. I have never counted their spots, so I am clueless as to whether each of the fat ones I have seen are sevn-spotted, or if size has nothing to do with spots....

http://bugguide.net/node/view/13734

Going to look at those solider bugs again, still getting them confused. Is the long thing the beak, or the sucking mouth?

Edited to say, looked at the site at lots of soldier and stink bugs. Looked at the pics on the first thread. They are stink bugs, no doubt. Brownish black, with little red markings. But now I can honestly say that I just don't see the difference between the long plant sucking beak, and the long bug-sucking beak. Can you explain?

Oh, and have a great weekend. Look for your answer next week...
This message was edited May 28, 2005 1:30 AM

This message was edited May 28, 2005 2:02 AM

So far, what I thought was a tiger beetle, look the most like:
"Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Pterygota » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Longhorned Beetles (Cerambycidae) » Flower Longhorns (Lepturinae) » Typocerus » Banded Longhorn (Typocerus velutinus)
Photo#8046

Copyright © 2004 Patrick Coin


Downy Flower Longhorn - Typocerus velutinus
Hill Forest near Dial Creek, Durham County, North Carolina, USA
June 21, 2004

Basking (?) on a leaf--I usually see these on flowers. This individual has broader yellow marks than some others already posted. "

Mine has more narrow bands, apparently not unusual. But also, his body and legs were black, and the proportion of his body to his legs was narrower body, longer legs. Good Guy?

Tamara - Flower cerambycids are neutral. They don't harm anything as far as I know.

And lady bugs come in all different sizes depending on the species. Once the lady beetle becomes a beetle, it is full size and won't get any bigger really. Baby lady beetles are larvae - like I showed earlier in the last thread and that TuttiFrutti showed a good picture of above - so a smaller lady beetle is just a different species.

As for predatory bugs versus plant-feeding bugs, I have tried to show the difference here. This is the only picture I have of a plant-feeding bug beak, so hopefully this will do. Plant-feeding bug beaks are generally about twice as long (at least) as the predatory bug beaks and the predatory bug beaks are about 2 to 3 times fatter or more than the plant-feeding bug beaks.

Tamara - as for mosquitoes, the best way to keep them from breeding is to get rid of any standing water possible, so dumping is best. Water boatmen and backswimmers (Corixidae and Notonectidae) are predators, but like other predatory bugs, they can also give a nasty bite. It's best just to not give the mosis a chance at all.

Welcome back, NB! Hope you had a sweet weekend. :)

Would you take a peek at this thread and see if you concur? http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/515657/ I have a pic of the "attached" ones if it helps; just didn't want to post it outright in an ID thread.

I'm wondering what is up with the dark eggs (?) I'm finding on my snapdragons after they've budded and begin to bloom. This is the clearest pic I can get with my camera skills (I think), and I do not see them on any snaps without buds/blooms.

Donna,

Have you tried Neem yet? Kell from the Brugs forum got me on it. It works very multi-purpose and is nature friendly - just watch out for flying bees. It is $14.95 at NSSP and $11.93 or 4 at Lowes. I sprayed everything I had after reading the label. Good Stuff.

Thanks for the tip, Karrie. I don't do anything (even spray with water) until I'm convinced I'm dealing with something harmful to my plants that I can't just pick or shake off. We once thought yellow jackets were bad, and even set up bait for them -- but that didn't last long. They're amongst my favorite pollinators and are easily directed outdoors when they sneak inside. :)

Editted to apologize to NB for getting a bit off topic here. I enjoy your postings so much, it makes me take a whole new outlook on my 'bugs' so now I'm looking for all of them, good or bad. :)

This message was edited Jun 1, 2005 1:57 AM

I don't like the yellow jackets or hornets myself. But we seem to keep them under control a little. I like the Bumble Bees and the Honey Bees the most myself - and I've been seeing alot of both. I've also noticed some different kind of butterflies this year I'd not seen around. It has been a nice Spring.

NB- thanks, I finally can see the difference. Now I gotta go out and smash those guys!

Saw the neatest ladybug, and tried to bring it home, but it got away. Will look for a pic later on one of those great bug ID sites. It had two stripes at the front, two spots at the back!

TuttiFrutti - I have no idea about your eggs (?). There are very few eggs that I can identify with certainty. These might even be droppings rather than eggs - I can only suggest watching to see if they hatch or to see if you see feeding activity.

As for the insect, I agree with eje that it is a Hemiptera. I am not sure whether or not it is a Zelus sp., though, because the picture is not close enough. It might be a stilt bug (family Berytidae). I have a picture and explanation of stilt bugs on the first thread (you can use the link in the first post of this thread) about 3/4 the way down - look for the picture with the red and green Coleus leaf - that's the stilt bug picture. Stilt bugs are both good and bad potentially, though I can't see them as doing much damage even when they suck plant juices. And the ones that I have seen seem to be fairly gregarious, hanging out in groups and flitting around together on the plants.

This message was edited Jun 1, 2005 11:51 PM

Those 'eggs' do rather look like scat, now that I think about it. Seems odd they only showed up on/near the buds and flowers, but perhaps those were the only horizontal-type surfaces upon which they could land and not roll off. I'll watch and see what 'rolls' in the future. ;)

*laughing at myself now*

Thank you for peeking into that thread. I just went back to your previous thread, and re-read the section about stilt bugs. It didn't stick in my mind because I hadn't yet observed them in my own garden, whereas I had seen some of the others so I did know to glance back there.

So far, we don't see any harm to nearby plants... just a number of very happy stilt bugs about and often 'walking in formation', so to speak. lol And I'm loving the fact that I'm seeing ladybug larvae everywhere! :)

Donna - not sure if you saw it on the news or not tonight, but they are already having aphid problems big time this year. Big Bug year here.

I am using the Neem on the gardens, but I have a bottle of Malathion Plus with me because I am total organic and know where these ingredients came from.

The caterpillars of Buckeye butterflies use snapdragons as their host food. Maybe those are just frass. (poop)

Ok, so this morning I went out to check on the garden, and I was admiring the new leaves on my squash plants when I saw something moving. I thought maybe it was a beetle or something moving in the mulch, BUT to my surprise it was long and skinny! I thought maybe it was an itty bitty snake at first, but it was falling all over itself. So, I got a stick and picked it up. I took two shots of if so you can see that it does move. I set it on an 8-1/2x11 piece of paper. Anybody seen this before?