Friend or Foe

I found these visitors in my garden. Are they friends or not?

And this guy....

And him.

The first one is a ladybug. Most folks consider them a friend, at least until they start invading their houses for the winter. I don't recognise the caterpillar, It is not on my list of formidable foes, but it could be something that is a Florida exclusive or maybe the larva of a really beautiful benign butterfly.

Isn't the 3rd an assassin bug? They are good for plants and bad if they bite right?

1. Ladybug -- friend
2. Caterpillar -- could be anything, but I am thinking something you don't want on your plants.
3. Assassin bug -- friend (VERY easy to confuse with leaf-footed stink bugs, which have "leaf" like attachments on their legs, and are garden pests)

Doesn't the assissin bug have that cog like thing on the back of their necks or is that just some of them?

You mean a Wheel Bug? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheel_bug

CAUTION: A wheel bug bite is incredibly painful and can take months for the wound to heal. http://www.hiltonpond.org/ThisWeek030901.html

This message was edited Jun 20, 2008 9:20 AM

The cat looks like a cutworm to me..and you don't want him around

When I went out this evening I found another of those black bugs. This one did have wider, flatter legs. I think we have a pest.

I also found this guy who has been hiding from my camera, but tonight was bold and proud to be eating the tomato. Dasterdly bug.

What is this brown one.

Is there something I should spray to keep these guys at bay? I have been spraying a light-garden spray I got from Lowes, but obviously it's not enough.

Or, do I just keep sharing the harvest and wait for cooler weather?

It is a stink bug. Leaf-footed bugs and stink bugs cause the same problems -- damage to tomato fruits, as well as the stems of other plants.

Stink bugs and leaf-footed bugs will wreck your tomatoes, making them inedible. They are tough bugs and don't go away unaided. I would get a hand-held vacuum cleaner and suck up every one you find. That will keep the numbers in check early in the season (late May, early June). By late June, early July, there's really nothing you can do short of chemicals. Ortho Bug-B-Gon Max is one solution. A non-chemical solution is to grow a trap crop like millet, etc. which they like as much or more than tomatoes. Then you can hand-pick them. Also increasing plant spacing and some judicious thinning of your plants to reduce any dense clumps of foliage, because that is where they hide first.

I know of no organic pest control product/insecticide that has any effect on adult stink bugs/leaf-footed bugs.

Again I am using my Houston gardening as an example, but I plant my tomatoes the first or second week of March, harvest most of my tomatoes May 21-June 10 and then by the time the stink bugs become an unstoppable onslaught, I've already picked most of my good tomatoes. I did hit all the plants with Ortho Bug-B-Gon Max this year and that staved off the bugs somewhat. I don't really do much gardening in June, July, or August except melons.

This message was edited Jun 20, 2008 8:43 PM

Thank you. I will keep all of this for future reference. I'm still learning. Yes, my tomatoes are almost gone, but a few stragglers. I may just give up on them.

When do you start your fall crop inside? Outside?

Tomorrow afternoon. Indoors.

WOW! Perfect. I have been so antsy. What all are you planting?

Feldon: I looked at your pics and you had a wonderful spring crop. Quite a set up. I also do raised beds, only 3 for now though.

I see you have frames over the tomato beds. Is that for screening in the heat? I have thought about doing that.

thank you for the pics, I got some great ideas from them.

The frames were to protect against frosts. Last year we had a frost on April 8th. But if you wait until April to plant tomatoes, it's too late.