Name That Mystery Critter

Since I don't know if he's helpful or harmful I figured this forum would be the best place to stick this question

Found him this afternoon on a bean plant, he wasn't eating or anything but I wanted to try and ID him none the less since I am still a gardening newb! The pictures aren't the best, he's tiny and moves fast so it was a little hard to capture all the details. I'll try to describe him as best I can.
He has 6 legs, looks to be mostly brown with light greenish (think lightning bug green) belly and spots on the side of his body. He has kind of a bristle tail to him, that seems to put out some sort of slimy trail, and small pinchers on his face. So without further ado, here he is...



Ready? Set? Name That Mystery Critter!

My daughter says it's a greenlacewing larve. If so that is a good guy.

Lindacol wrote:My daughter says it's a greenlacewing larve. If so that is a good guy.

Awesome! Thanks so much! Because honestly he doesn't really look like the good guy type, so I am glad I found out before doing a panic squish

I think it might be an earwig, which is NOT a good thing. Do an internet search for images of earwig and see what you think, then act accordingly!

memart1 wrote:I think it might be an earwig, which is NOT a good thing. Do an internet search for images of earwig and see what you think, then act accordingly!

That was my first thought, but I wasn't sure so that's why I waited to find out before squishing. Luckily earwig's have their pincers in the back and his were in front. *phew!*

That first picture with its pincers and the "tail" in the air made me think of a tiny scorpian. Wrong configuraton, but sure made me stop a minute.

Kay

Thought I'd post this here because the thread name is fun. I found these eggs on my collard greens just now. They look so much like the beneficial wasp eggs I found on the tomato hornworm that I didn't want to destroy them until I found out what they were. I googled 'white fluffy eggs on plants' and didn't find a match. Any ideas?


CC

Lindacol wrote:My daughter says it's a greenlacewing larve. If so that is a good guy.

+1

CapeCoddess wrote:Thought I'd post this here because the thread name is fun. I found these eggs on my collard greens just now. They look so much like the beneficial wasp eggs I found on the tomato hornworm that I didn't want to destroy them until I found out what they were. I googled 'white fluffy eggs on plants' and didn't find a match. Any ideas?


CC

considering the host plant I would bet but don't know for sure, those are cabbage mouth cocoons.

Yup, that's it alright.  Wasn't easy to find.
Thanks, camp!

Lol, cabbage mouth. Of course I meant cabbage moth

OK, big yuck.  I found this little 3/4 inch weirdo on a collard leaf that was laying on the ground.  He moves by jerking back and forth.  Startled me the first time.  I think if I were to squish it, it would feel like a soft jelly bean, but I let it go. What the heck is it?


CC

It's cool!

Oh, not a good guy, CC.  What you have there is a fresh pupae of the dreaded Imported Cabbageworm.  Scroll down for a picture.

Only in the State with the Montauk Monster that washed ashore! Seriously, maybe you can raise it to see what it turns in to. Looks like a larva.

mollyhespra wrote:Oh, not a good guy, CC.  What you have there is a fresh pupae of the dreaded Imported Cabbageworm.  Scroll down for a picture.

How do you always know these things, Molly??? You're like an expert on the weird and bizarre.

I'll find it & ...bye bye monster.

CC

sanderson wrote:Only in the State with the Montauk Monster that washed ashore!    Seriously, maybe you can raise it to see what it turns in to.  Looks like a larva.

Being a native Long Island girl, The Montauk Monster was in New York. 
I needed to credit 'the disgusting thing' to the right state Lol.

My apology to all the folks of Maine.  My source was wrong.

Molly, good call. Sure looks like the pupae.

CapeCoddess wrote:

mollyhespra wrote:Oh, not a good guy, CC.  What you have there is a fresh pupae of the dreaded Imported Cabbageworm.  Scroll down for a picture.

How do you always know these things, Molly???  You're like an expert on the weird and bizarre.

I'll find it & ...bye bye monster.

CC

LOL!!!  No expert here.  A few years back I thought it a good thing to make a worm-feeder for the birds by putting any worms I picked off the broccoli into a small tray in the middle of a larger tray with water.  Well, it didn't work; the birds ignored the treats and the worms that didn't dry out managed to swim ashore and crawl somewhere else.   I just happened to have one of them crawl up between the screen & window of my patio next to where the worm-bath was so I just left it there, thinking it had died, but instead it slowly transformed into one of those.  Then it became an interesting thing to watch it survive our <-20 winter days (exposed to all the elements) and then come out as a moth during a warm snap in March.  I didn't see the "birth" happen but I saw the empty cocoon and thought the moth flew away.  It wasn't until I opened the porch window once it warmed up a few months later that I found the dead moth still trapped inside.  It wouldn't have survived anyway, being as there was no food for it to eat in March but a bird might have gotten it instead...