Anyway, below are several bugs that were found over the weekend, in a sinlge stroll through the garden. Believe me...you have them too, ya just have to find them.
Here's a big, fuzzy caterpillar. From my childhood, I quickly learned to NEVER pick up a caterpillar that is fuzzy, or even spiked. Most sting the crap out of you! Believe me, it hurts.
Photo below - here's a white fringed beetle, and these things are everywhere. They are attracted to over 300 different types of plants, and the larvae overwinter in the soil. From my personal experience, they are mostly found around the peas, beans, potatoes, cucumbers, and okra.
Photo below - this little stinker was hanging out in the new cucumber section, and was quickly disposed of. Just look at it sitting in my hand...now, how could something like this be gross to pick up? No gloves necessary, contrary to what ribbit and ShawnAnn believe. Ha!
Photo below - stinkbug. These things have arrived in full force, and can be found mostly on the okra plants. On any given day, at least a dozen of them can be found. Still, no insecticides are used, as it's quite easy to just hand-pick them.
Photo below - here's some "different" eggs located underneath an okra leaf. I bet they belong to the stinkbug, because it's the only one I haven't seen when hatching.
Photo below - Remember the worms that were wreaking havoc on the tomatoes a while back? Well, now they're on the okra plants. These little devils can really eat some foliage!
Photo below - That's enough "bad" bugs....let's talk about some good ones! Here's a little assassin bug, and I must have found 4 or 5 on the watermelon vines. These things are pretty cool!
Photo below - this little bee was just hanging on to a cucumber leaf, and I thought it was strange that it wasn't visiting blooms. Who knows, maybe it partied too much. Ha!
Photo below - as the beans were being examined, I came across this beneficial insect. Mantids are something that everyone wants have in their garden, as they eat other insects. It was probably the biggest one this year!
Photo below - on the same trellis of beans, was another one! Cool....It was giving me the "eye", too! Maybe it wanted me to pick it up, too? Well...I didn't want to scare it away....
In other news, I pulled the last remaining watermelon yesterday, and the taste was so-so. However, there are still lots of cantaloupes and honeydew melons in the garden, and one should be ready in about a week. It's still raining everyday, and as of yesterday, it has rained 14 days in a row. Crap....My tomatoes are cracking again - with no end in sight.Later this week, I have a couple of videos coming up - one with me and Jude throwing/catching the frisbee, and another showing the harvest of one of the sweet potato plantings. You'll not want to miss them! The amount of sweet potatoes in that first container was quite a surprise!
Take care, and happy gardening!
EG
18 comments:
14 days of rain! I know how that is and it is crazy! Good thing raised beds drain well. Hope the sun will come out soon.
Those are some bugs. That poor bee looks like it's a bit waterlogged. He's probably trying to dry out before he can fly around your blooms. Those mantids are cool!
Man, looks like our rainy summer up here in New England has gone south for the Fall.
Those mantis are so cool, thanks for all the bug pics.
Ha ha ha!
Hey I had one of those orange wooly caterpillars on my porch the other day...I heard that if you see those before first frost your gonna have a cold snowy winter...bet you don't get much snow down there, if ever! Have to wait and see if it's true or not!
rachel - another 7 days of rain is in the forecast, so my garden is probably toast...
kelly - I'm glad you liked the pics!
ShawnAnn - really? Gosh, I hope our winter isn't too bad, 'cause I hate snow. It snowed pretty big here twice last year.
EG, thank you so much for your kind words, and for leaving a comment!! My sweetlove is home now (he was cremated as per his wish) and I have him in a very large green ball jar with his hat and sunglasses. Please visit my blog again in the future as there will be happier postings to come. I must admit this is the first time I have visited your site and I really like it. Now that you've post those pictures, I think I've seen some of those bugs in my garden!! I am a container gardner right now as my backyard is domineered by a huge ficas. Again, thank you for your comment. Take care. K (aka Mad Beach Maven)
Kathryn - you're welcome. I'll be visiting your blog again....
Bugs, smugs. Now get on with those sweet potato pictures. :)
BTW, I could pick those bugs with my hands, I just choose not to in order to prolong my life by not having it scared out of me prematurely. :)
Actually, we don't have all those bugs. We have plenty, but I think the South has a special relationship with bugs.
And I hope you wash your hands after you squash things. Eeeeew.
Can't wait to see your sweet potatoes so I can fall out of my chair with envy.
Don't give up EG! We had two months of rain and I still ended up with a good gardening year (except for the late blight).
Can't wait for your videos :)
stefaneener - Yeah, I am one with the bugs. Texas has alot, too. Wash my hands? Nah, just wipe them on my pants or something.
rachel - Oh, I'm not giving up, but certainly know the squash will die because of the excessive rainfall.
ribbit - getting kinda antsy 'bout them taters, ain't ya? You'll have to see my video with Jude, first.
Thanks for the bug pictures. The praying (preying?) mantis are especially beautiful!
Rain here, NW of Atlanta, too. I think we've had around 20 inches in the last two weeks, and a lot of that fell today. Some of the terraced beds in my sloped yard were like little waterfalls today---pretty, but not exactly what I had in mind when building them...
Hope your garden makes it through the storms!
-Amy
Amy - I think y'all had more rain than us, but we've had our share! The zucchini will likely perish, but not before I get at least 3 more fruit from the plants.
Cool bug shots, even if they are not all so cool to have around. Nice to see the mantis around that's for sure. I have never seen one in my yard before, I'm not complaining though as they freak me out!
Ha! Dan, they are pretty freaky looking....
Did not know that about fuzzy caterpillars, thanks for sharing...does it leave an itch too?
That assassin bug is pretty cool. I've never seen it before.
I can't wait to see your sweet potato pictures. I keep hearing that they are pretty drought resistant and easy to grow.
We do have a lot of bugs here in Texas, and they're starting to figure out I have a new garden...
Thomas - I can't remember, since I quit touching them 30 years ago! They hurt like crap!
Meredith - if you plant a garden, bugs you've never seen before will find it.
Post a Comment