Friend or Foe!

I write a lot about gardening since that is what I do a lot. Today is no different..today I write about bugs! There are bugs that do much damage to a plant but there are also beneficial insects to have in a garden. I try not kill spiders..at least not the ones of the garden variety since they are "good" friends of a garden. (Some, I gladly squish..Black Widows, for example. I was bitten once!) Ladybugs are also great garden friends as they feed upon aphids. One of my favorite friends of the insect world is the Praying Mantis. They are so called by the appearance of their front legs that are held in a "praying" position. Mantids eat so many other bugs that they are literally an "insect insecticide"! They have no qualms about eating anything that moves if it is smaller than them, which in itself might seem strange as the females do resort to cannibalism soon after mating. (Note..the female is much larger than the male making him an easy target for dinner.) They are remarkably adept at hiding among the plants which not only helps them find prey but also protects them from being eaten. This one is climbing on my clothesline pole so it was an easy find. Perhaps there are many more among the pole beans and maybe a few on the bell pepper plants, one can only hope! Praying Mantis..friend!

I was out and about early this morning and noticed that some of the miniature gourds were chewed off at the stem. I inspected the gourd..it had definitely been attacked by something with vigorous gnawing habits. I immediately thought that perhaps a mouse had ventured into the garden without regard to the ever watchful eye of Ms. Put, the resident mouse-catching cat. I peered under the leafy gourd vine hoping to perhaps find more evidence of the culprit. Not only did I find evidence, I found the evil-doer itself! There munching contentedly on another tiny gourd was a huge grasshopper! These particular grasshoppers are about three inches long as adults and can chew their way through massive amounts of vegetation every day. Eastern Lubber Grasshoppers are not ones to have in a garden. Even as tiny nymphs they have voracious appetites. They start out life as very small reddish brown nymphs that, with the heat of the sun, turn shiny black with red stripes. After several months, they evolve into huge yellow, red and black grasshoppers. Their bright red wings are of little use as they are only about a third of the length of the body. This grasshopper does not fly and can only jump short distances. It is remarkably clumsy for an insect which made it easy to catch and "dispose". Eastern Lubber Grasshoppers..definite foe!