Now spiders, on the other hand, I have plenty off. They are my new best friends, especially when I see tiny cabbage worms locked away in a tight web. It's funny how bugs that would normally annoy or frighten you get viewed in a different light once you develop a symbiotic relationship with them. The best way to get people to purchase less Raid? Answer: start a veggie garden!
Anyway, here are pictures of some of my garden visitors:
I'm hoping that someone can help me identify this little guy. He has the most dramatic coloring (deep red and blue) and pattern I've seen on an insect in a while.
Kind of difficult to spot this one as well (sometimes I wish I had a macro lens for my camera) but this fly has a interesting pattern of yellow and black strips.
"The ants go marching one by one...hurrah, hurrah..." I seems I only get to listen to children's songs in the car these days.
Nice - what a gorgeous little fella the psychedelic one is...
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeletewhen my garden is full of different insect, I know, I will be lucky for my vegetable.
I think its true what you say about viewing things in a different light once you know they are there to help you.
ReplyDeleteI have a hard time seeing it, but I think your top one is a candy stripe leaf hopper.
ReplyDeleteMy current garden has very few insects of any kind right now. That will change I'm sure. The cabbage butterflies have already found the place. I don't have any brassicas for them to eat so I'm safe, but I'm sure other nasties will come and then the good ones. I'll have to make some nice places for the beneficials to live.
I'm so with you on the children's songs. The boy has just recently stated he liked an Alice in Chains song he heard so there's no going back. Now we'll listen to the real radio in hopes of hearing one of their songs. It's a cheap trick, but it keeps me in good music.
ReplyDeleteWe have those red and blue bugs too. Pretty, huh?
Worms, bees, lady bugs, spiders, and praying mantis - all welcome. It's the slugs, the cabbage worms, and the earwigs that I could do without easily enough!
ReplyDeleteYou are so right about the Raid thing, I can't remember the last time I sprayed indiscriminately around the house and yard. I do keep a can of wasp & hornet spray just in case they build a nest near the kids' playset, but other than that when I see a pest I always have to research and decide what I'm going to do about it, I don't have an aresenal anymore, I don't keep anything on hand except some insecticidal soap!
ReplyDeleteBug watching has become a hobby for me too after I started gardening. I saw a similar bug (in your first photo) in my garden too, which destroyed one of my groundcherry bushes :( I am yet to identify it yet.
ReplyDeleteAnd the ants are a big no-no in my garden coz they bring in aphids and mealy bugs.
I think the little blue and red guy might be a leafhopper: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphocephala_coccinea
ReplyDeleteI had some hanging around my container garden last year. They're very striking!
I was trying to figure out what it was, and saw Daphne's comment. That led me here: http://bugguide.net/node/view/193864
ReplyDeleteRed-banded leafhopper, photographed in Medford, Massachusetts.
As much as I dislike bugs, I need to remember that there are helpful ones, too. :)
Your insects and produce are all looking really good right now Thomas! :)
ReplyDeleteI love to watch the parade of good bugs that come through my garden. The problem is when a new one comes along and I don't know if it's good, bad, or whatever. LindaG went to one of my favorite sites for identifying bugs - bugguide.net has a lot of great photographs. And of course you can alway post a photo and ask the blogging community!
ReplyDeleteI love the Bumble!
ReplyDeleteThe bumble bee is my favorite visitor in the garden!
ReplyDelete