Not Today, Buddy!

  Physical therapy in the gardens has to be the best way.  Strengthening those muscles along with fresh air cannot be wrong.  Plus, I get to watch the critters that visit.  Early this morning, I was captivated by a grasshopper, of all things.  While I hoisted weights, the grasshopper basked in the sunshine.  The grasshopper seemed to not have a care in the world and, for a while, I agreed with him.  As far as I could see, the critter was enjoying life to its fullest but that changed within a snap.  Danger lurked in the mimosa tree!  The grasshopper was unaware that he was in a predator's sight.  He lingered on unaware.

 A flash of red told me that my friend, the cardinal, was searching for breakfast.  Each morning, I set out seed for the family of cardinals.  The male always comes first to make sure it is safe before calling his family in to feast.  This morning, however, the cardinal had his eye on the grasshopper!  I was torn between letting the bird catch the insect or helping the bug escape.  Either way, there would be a loser.  Was it to be the bird's breakfast or the bug's life.  Nature will be nature so I refrained from scooting the grasshopper under the ginger plants.  We would just have to see how this played out if I was to be neutral.  "Let nature take its course" has always been a difficult task for me to follow but...I lifted weights and watched.  The drama that was to be never unfolded.  The bird was distracted by another male cardinal and they went chasing each other in a territorial battle.  The grasshopper was safe for the time being.

  It has long been thought by most folks that Northern Cardinals only eat seeds.  Their thick bills do lend themselves to cracking the shells but about 30% of their diet is made up of insects.  They will often take moths, katydids, flies, spiders and, yes, grasshoppers as tasty treats.  In fact, the parent birds feed their nestlings on mostly a diet of insects. So, had it not been distracted, the cardinal would have made short work of my grasshopper friend!

  

Not That Bad

  Springtime sees us being invaded by millions of tiny, black grasshoppers.  As they age, these things change into huge, three-inch-long, plant-munching, multi-colored menaces.  They eat everything in sight.  We have found that it is far easier to get rid of as many as possible when they are just hatching rather than wait until they are large enough to cause major damage.  Try as I might, I never get them all.  Of course, it is ridiculous to think that would be possible considering they are throughout the woods and on the neighbors' property, as well.  I do try to get rid of any adult grasshoppers that may evade my first attempts but a lot of them slip past unseen.  It is then that I get real aggravated at the critters...which is strange as I usually live by a "live and let live" mantra.  If these grasshoppers would keep themselves back in the woods, I would be ok with their presence but, no, they want to munch my garden plants, instead.  These are the dreaded Eastern Lubber Grasshoppers.  Ugh!

  Back in the early part of the summer, I had to keep covering the lily bulbs because the adult grasshoppers were eating the new growth. Once they finished off the top of the plants, they started in on the bulbs even to the point of digging into the ground to get at them.  I put some bulbs in pots and covered them with another flower pot to keep the critters out.  This did well until I had to uncover the plants.  They were too tall to keep covered.  The lilies sent up tall shoots with buds and I was so excited!  These bright yellow blooms always brighten the fall gardens.

  This past weekend, I checked the bud.  Alas!  A grasshopper was munching away on the stalk!  In fact, it had nibbled its way from top to bottom eating just about half of the stalk.  The lily had bent over because it could not support the weight of its own buds.  Needless to say, the grasshopper had just eaten its last meal.  My lily was ruined, however.  Brokenhearted, I left the bud and went inside.  This morning as I watered the other plants, I noticed the lily.  Sheer determination let that lily bloom in all its glory!  Even though it was ravaged by the critter, bent over flat and seemingly did not have a chance in the world...it bloomed.  Seeing that bright yellow flower that bloomed against all odds gave me a weird sense of strength.  If the plant can survive and still provide a bit of beauty, I can lift my head a bit higher and smile a bit brighter.  Things are not that bad, after all.

Poor Decision

  After a long night of sitting up with an ailing dog, I had to escape for a few moments.  Since he was resting easy, I slipped out the front door to catch the sunrise.  Sometimes, a few moments can mean all the difference in the start of a new day.  While there, I noticed a tiny ripple in the water near the pier.  This ripple was different than those made by the little mullet running along the shore.  I strained my eyes to see what was making the small waves.  To my surprise, I found that it was a grasshopper floating on top of the water.  With no wind to push the critter along, I pondered how it had gotten so far from shore and how it had not been snatched up by a fish.

  Figuring that the grasshopper had been resting in the marsh and washed from its perch by the torrential rainstorm last night, I knew it had to be exhausted.  Knowing how I am, I probably would have tried to help the garden-eating pest had there been anything handy to extend down to the water's surface.   There was nothing on the pier that would suffice as a lift for the critter, however.  I watched as the grasshopper kicked its feet.  That motion sent it propelling across the water placing it within inches of the pier post.  "Grab ahold to the post!!"  Nope, the critter pushed again but in the opposite direction.  The grasshopper was kicking toward shore but it was moving away from its only hope.  

  The push to go to shore put the grasshopper right in line of a red drum that was chasing the school of little mullet.  Redfish are not choosy.  A grasshopper fills the belly just as good as a tiny fish and when it is helplessly floating atop the water, it is a lot easier to catch.  The poor decision making of the grasshopper caused its death.  A grasshopper became breakfast, a redfish filled its belly and I eased my way back up the hillside to check on old Mr. PJ, the old dog.  

.

One Less Garden Pest

  It is that time of year when the critters that were born (hatched) earlier in the spring have to get accustomed to their new size.  Critters grow fast.  They mature at a greater rate than humans merely because of hardships faced.  There is no mollycoddling of the young.  It is more of a "grow up and move on" type situation.  Even critters that do care for their babies only provide that care for a very short time.  It is also that time where critters of the insect world start molting.  The babies are no longer tiny and they have to shed that exoskeleton so they can grow.  This is much like our changing our clothes as we grow.  The outer part separates from their bodies and then splits.  The critters sort of slither out.  At this point, they are usually soft and have limited movement.  They are also highly vulnerable.  Predators can make an easy meal of them as the insects cannot escape.

  This morning, I headed to the garden.  We had a particularly nice rain last night and I knew the yellow squash should be the perfect size for picking.  Lunch was going to be a delight.  After getting my bowl full of the beauties, I turned to check how the blueberries were doing.  It was there that I found my molting critter.  A eastern lubber grasshopper was in the process of shedding that outer layer.  The grasshopper was almost all the way out of the old outer shell when I happened upon it.  Things like this never cease to interest me so I watched the critter for a while.  This one was well on its way to attaining its adult size of about 3 inches in length. 

  Now, had this been most any other insect, I probably would have left it be but because of the damage these critters do, I did get rid of it.  The process was easy and swift.  There is now one less pair of gnawing jaws to tear down my plants.  Sorry, grasshopper.  You just had to go.  One down....a million to go.

How Did You Get In Here?

  Earlier today, it was time for me to start a new project.  The redoing of the living room was dragging on and eventually came to a screeching halt.  There are a few things left to do before the makeover is complete but those things cannot be completed just yet so there is nothing for me to do except start something new.  I figure since I am redoing one room, the others should follow.  So, the entryway is the next place to receive a bit of much needed attention.  Of course, the first thing to do would be empty out the space.  It seems that this small room is the catchall for whatever is in our hands as we enter the house.  Stuff is dropped there with the good intentions of putting it up properly "in a few minutes".  The trouble is...those few minutes drag on until we plumb forget about our misplaced items....so they stay until the room is quite cluttered.  Time to purge!

  As soon as the chore was begun, I had a visitor.  Thankfully, this was not a human visitor as that would mean that my tasks would be put on hold but rather this was a critter guest and an unwelcome one at that.  A large Eastern Lubber Grasshopper had somehow found his way into the Little Bayou House and had taken up residence in the entryway.  When I discovered him, he was perched proudly upon the window frame overlooking the few potted plants on the ledge.  He even had the nerve to poop on that window frame!!!  Ok, rascal!  You are out of here!  My purge of stuff from the room included the critter!

  These grasshoppers are the bane of the garden.  They can munch an entire garden to the bare ground in a few days.  Spring sees thousands upon thousands of the eggs hatching and fall ushers in the mating season of any adults that escape my attempts to eradicate the bunch.  I try my best to clear the yard of the critters only to find them now moving into the Little Bayou House!  Help!  Go away, grasshopper!

The Torch Has Been Passed...

  I have a personal vendetta against the Eastern Lubber Grasshopper.  I come by it naturally.  Granddaddy carried on a feud with these guys for years.  He would try to kill as many as he could each spring and then all summer long.  It did no good.  No matter how many you kill, there are just as many (or more) the next spring.  Like him, I will go out of my way to stomp on one and I am one of those "live and let live" sort of folks...most of the time. With these grasshoppers, it is more of a battle of survival.  If I wish to have any sort of garden, I have to be overzealous in dealing with the lubbers.  If left, the critters can strip a garden of every leaf in a matter of days.  Gardening would be a bleak endeavor. 

  Back on the farm, the grasshoppers were unheard of.  We had no inkling such a critter existed.  While we battled things like tomato worms and aphids, grasshoppers of any kind were just sort of ignored.  Then came Hurricane Camille back in 1969.  It was an intense hurricane like none other before.  The Coast was nigh on decimated.  It took so much away but also brought an everlasting plague.  The Eastern Lubber Grasshopper washed in on the tidal surge and never left.

  This afternoon, I noticed two of the critters in different stages of their morphs.   One was still in its juvenile black stage while one was a full adult.  These, both, would have met their demise had I been able to reach them.  They were smart to stay out in the marsh.  As I came back up the board path to admire the ruby lilies that were gently swaying in the breeze, my heart sank as I spied several other grasshoppers happily munching the lily stalks.  Needless to say, I value my lilies far more than some bug.  Those five are no more.  Granddaddy would be proud to know that I am carrying on his battle! The torch has been passed and the lilies are safe for at least one more day.

Such an Attractive PEST!

   Late summer and on into fall, finds that the Eastern Lubber Grasshoppers are in their decline.  Usually, this is the time of year that their lives come to an end and the continuation of their existence depends purely on the egg cases deposited in the sand.  Come springtime, those egg cases will split open and thirty or so tiny grasshoppers will dig their way out of a hole in the ground. That is when the popular (yeah, right) dance begins.  Dubbed the "Grasshopper Stomp" by my kids so many years ago, the dance remains the only surefire way to eliminate masses of the grasshoppers in a single blow.  Very few insecticides work.  The only "sprays" that do kill the critters are straight gasoline and a concoction made up of hot sauce.  The gas kills them in their tracks while the hot sauce melts their exoskeletons.  Neither is a preferred method so the Stomp is repeated on a daily basis during the months of April and May.  Then, throughout the summer, individual critters are smashed.  Why do we try to eradicate these critters?  They are destructive, to say the least.  The Eastern Lubber Grasshoppers are not picky eaters and will totally strip a garden overnight eating both the plants and the fruit/vegetables thereon. Once the garden is devoid of green, they climb trees, munch the lawn and will even gnaw holes in window screens!  For those who do not know, these grasshoppers can reach upwards of four inches in length and appear to have an appetite of an elephant.

  All of this is a shame, however, as the critters really are pretty.  This is one of those beautiful creatures with an ugly unseen side.  If they were not so destructive, the critters could live in peace in my garden.  I do not even mind a few missing plants....just not an entire missing garden! The grasshoppers are a myriad of colors with black, red and yellow being the most dominant.  The hatchlings are brick red and soft.  Once their exoskeletons harden, they become black with red stripes on either side.  After the first moult, the grasshoppers obtain their true colors. Yellow joins the red and black on the exoskeletons.  The grasshoppers now have wings, albeit useless for flying.  The wings are sometimes used as a threatening device and are unfurled to show size.  It is then that the bright red inner wings are apparent.  The critters will also hiss and spew a foul-smelling liquid if harassed.  They are also toxic if eaten.  

  The critters live up to their name of Lubber.  If you look up the definition of "Lubber", you will find it means "a large, clumsy person". These are rather large, clumsy grasshoppers.  This lack of speed and agility does at least make them easily caught and smashed.  It is just a shame that something so attractive is such a destructive nuisance! 

The Frog and the Grasshopper

  In the "real" world, frogs eat insects. It is a known fact.  Let a grasshopper or moth get near and...wham!..the frog has a meal.   In the real world, frogs and insects are not friends.  One is predator and the other is prey....in the real world.

  Sometimes, I think the Frog Pond has gone berserk.  Things are not as they should be.  This afternoon, I witnessed something that should not have been.  A grasshopper decided to perch atop a frog.  Huh?  That should not have happened!  What is this world coming to if frogs and insects are friends?   To be truthful, the frog was probably just tolerating its unlikely guest but, still, it seemed strange.  And granted, the grasshopper is a slight bit toxic and rather large so perhaps the frog was aware of the potential problem of trying to devour its visitor. As matter of fact, the grasshopper was almost as large as the frog!   But...still...

  An Eastern Lubber Grasshopper was making it way to the edge of the pond when, suddenly, it crawled on top of the little frog.  The frog was not about to even wiggle!  It just sat there looking rather dopey with a grasshopper sitting on its head!  I figured that perhaps the critters were staging this act just for me as a photographic opportunity so I took full advantage of it.  Dozens of pictures were taken just so I could "prove" that I actually witnessed the incident.  This was sort of like those times when someone claims to have seen Big Foot but have no proof.  I have proof of this unlikely friendship!  Now if I can just get a picture of our friend with huge feet!  I know we must have one out there somewhere as every bayou needs a legendary critter and not just friendly frogs!

A Smidgen of a Memory?

  While I realize that bugs are not supposed to have memories much beyond where their last meal was eaten but sometimes I just have to wonder.   Back a month ago, I allowed a bird grasshopper to go on its merry way after photographing it.  The critter had just shed its outer layer was was highly vulnerable at the moment.  I could have easily smashed it to smithereens and saved the garden leaves a good bit of chomping.  I figured what harm could one bug do....other than lay a bunch of eggs and create hordes of baby grasshoppers.  My hindsight should warn my foresight of these things.  Son always tells me that an second of foresight saves a lot of labor whereas a year of hindsight has never done anything.  Well, I suppose I will find out soon enough.

  But...back to that critter memory....or lack thereof.  While out in the garden this morning (and then again this afternoon), I noticed that a bird grasshopper flew to my shoulder.  Could this be the same lady that was changing her wardrobe in the fig tree last month?  I have no way of knowing but the critter insisted on riding around the garden while perched on my red shirt.  After a bit, I gently relocated the bug to the wire arbor.  Not once did it shimmy away nor did it try to hide.  It merely sat.  Then this afternoon while picking tomatoes, the grasshopper once again hitched a ride on my arm.  It stayed put  as I strolled through the garden and then hopped off when I reached the gate.

  Was this the same critter?  Did it remember the kindness that I had shown it when it was at its weakest?  Was it trying to return the favor in its own way by gracing me with its presence?  Probably not on all accounts but it is something nice to think.  Then, again, maybe this grasshopper just likes red shirts.

Only Nine Hundred and Ninety-nine More to Go!

  As I did chores inside the Little Bayou House, I could hear a familiar che-che-che of a grasshopper through the open windows.  While critter sounds are normally soothing to me, this one irritated me.  I knew what that critter was up to with that raspy noise!  Somewhere out there in amongst the jungle that I call a garden, a female Eastern Lubber Grasshopper was ready to do her thing and lay about a bazillion eggs. Somewhere out there, she was sitting there rubbing her little wings or legs or whatever together as she tried to call to a suitable mate. Somewhere out there trouble was brewing and it irritated me.  This action bothered me because I knew she was getting ready to spew eggs out into the soft soil and make millions of little ones come next spring. (Ok, so maybe not that many but it sure seems like it when they eat entire gardens.)

  I hurried to finish the chores so I could go on a grasshopper hunt.  I needed to get that big, old mama before she laid her eggs.  This would save me a lot of hassle come next April.  These old legs are getting tired of doing that "Grasshopper Stomp" dance for about three weeks come springtime.  Each female will lay about five "pods" that contain around fifty eggs. That is two hundred and fifty or so little plant-eating critters per each female.  Now go figure that there are probably a good thousand (or more) females hopping about the property and you can see why I am adamant about smacking each one I can find.  Problem is....those critters are good at hiding!

  This afternoon while on our hike, Mark and I found one fat female crawling up the side of the shed.  After her photo ops, she sadly (not!) met her demise.  That lessened my work in the spring at least a tad! Now to hunt down about another nine hundred and ninety-nine critters!

Winifred!

Trying to beat the heat, Michael and I were out early this morning.  We had work to attend so there was no lazy trip to the pier!  He and I are cleaning up a bunch of mess that has laid more or less unnoticed since the last hurricane. Now these boards are the home of some billion or so termites.  Not a happy thought by far!  He and I are ridding the hillside of rotted wood and in the process also killing a few of the wicked insects that try to eat the Little Bayou House.  While dragging a large piece of plywood, he suddenly stopped and pointed at a nandina bush.  Ok..so I admit that I have poor eyesight but for the life of me, I could not see anything except the bush!  Yep!  That is a nice bush, Michael!  He grinned and pointed a bit closer.  Still nothing came into my view.  In my defense, though, the sun was at the perfect angle to throw a nice glare on the bush from where I was standing.  So I only saw "bright".  He finally put his hand right in the leaves.  Ahh, I see it....MICHAEL, THAT IS A BEE!  He looked at me incredulously...ummm.."Yep, you are right. I was showing you a bee."  Well, if my son took the time to show me a bee, I had better look at it a bit closer!

Well, now why did he not explain why he was pointing at this bee?  When I stepped closer I could see that the bee (or I suppose wasp) was trying to carry a bug that was much larger than itself.  That did indeed make this a tad interesting.  We decided the boards could wait a bit while we watched the progress of the bee/wasp thingy.  Since we were becoming quite familiar with said wasp, I decided to name her.  (And, yes, it was a her!)  Winifred!  Winifred Wasp!  Yep, that sounded rather nice!  Michael looked at me and got a funny grin on his face.."Only you, Mom, only you."  Hey, if I claim to be friends with the Bayou Critters, they have to have names..Winifred does not mind!  By this time Winifred had the grasshopper in a tight hold and was attempting to get airborne.  She buzzed and buzzed but the fat grasshopper was mighty heavy.  Finally, she took to the air!  I thought sure we had seen the last of Winifred but then she made a u-turn and came right back towards us. Uh oh!  She buzzed past us and to the porch.  Landing with a thud, she dropped her prey.  That was a long flight!  The nandina bush is nearly ten feet from the porch!

After resting a few minutes, Winifred, once again, grasped her grasshopper.  She was off again but this time only a matter of inches.  Winifred was trying to poke the grasshopper into a hole that a carpenter bee had drilled.  Ahh, Winifred believes in recycling!  I was beginning to really like Winifred!!  She is a pretty smart bee..err..wasp! (In all fairness, I realize that the small wasp probably paralyzed the carpenter bee's larva and laid her egg in the hole.  When the egg hatches, it will dine upon not only the grasshopper that the wasp shoved in the hole before closing it, but also the carpenter bee larva.)

Ok, so bug watching time was over.  Michael and I had to get back to work!  Thick clouds were building in the east and we knew that the afternoon would be filled with thunderstorms!

Creepy Crawlies!

As a rule, I am not afraid of bugs. I had better not be since I can usually be found playing in the garden or hiking around in the woods where there is always an abundance of critters. They do not scare me..I am more interested in them than anything. The insect world seems to teem with critters of all shapes, sizes and colors and I think just about all of them live on the Bayou with me!

I was out in the garden examining the crowder peas when I noticed a rather large grasshopper. He was just lounging about eating my pea leaves! I did not bother to shoo him away as the peas have way too many leaves. This excess of leaves makes it difficult to find the peas so I figure maybe he was helping me in his own hungry way. Grasshoppers are not terrifying..they are not even remotely scary. They do not threaten in any way but merely look at you with their beady eyes and munch.

A bit later I came across another of the Leaf footed Bugs. I knew now that these are harmless even if they do make enough racket to wake the dead and smell nigh as bad as a polecat! This ugly-bug was not one that would make the skin crawl unless you were one prone to the heebie-jeebies!

Why I did not even get a case of the jitters when a Praying Mantis decided to use my clothesline poles as a shortcut to the blueberry bushes. I was ok..this little guy is definitely a friend! I can recall a time when I realized that perhaps I was pushing the "friendly" bug thing a bit too far with my children. One night about twenty years ago, I went in my daughter's bedroom to hug her goodnight just to find her happily playing with a Praying Mantis. She wanted to keep him in her room and let him sleep on her pillow! Nope, Praying Mantids do not scare me!

Live bugs just do not frighten me..fake ones on the other hand..might. I have been working on the hallway for about a week now. With all of the tearing out and reconstruction, the doors have been propped open for extended periods of time..anything smaller than an elephant could have crawled in unnoticed. (Maybe even the elephant could have if he tiptoed!) Many things probably did..and many things will be swatted as they make their appearance known. Today, however, when I was painting the door jambs, I heard what sounded a lot like a critter crawling around somewhere in my near proximity. I listened..where and what was that noise? Flippity..flippity..flippity! Ok..so there was a critter here somewhere. I grabbed a magazine and started the search. Flippity..flippity. I narrowed the sound down to my daughter's vacant room..oh, geez...that Praying Mantis could not possibly be still in there! Flippity..flippity..it was going crazy now! I had to start giggling when I found my "critter". There in a jar was this butterfly thing that my sweet niece had given to me back in March. It is a fake Monarch Butterfly that has a little fiber optic cord attached to it that runs to a battery in the jar lid. Static makes it flip flop around the jar just as a real butterfly would if disturbed. It must have been very disturbed as the goofy thing was going bonkers in the jar! Perhaps the battery is running low or maybe there is just a mass of static electricity in my daughter's bedroom..who knows. I must say..this one had me a tad bit scared..not of the bug itself but rather that one was flippitying around in my house! Thanks, Eva! You and little Evan brought me the only critter that gave me the heebie-jeebies..and it was not even real! heehee!