Identifying Critters In My Garden with Pics

I found several different critters in my garden today.  Had noticed last night that there were a couple of holes in my heirloom White Half-Runner green beans.  Today, there were many holes.  
I kept looking and saw 4 or 5 tanish beetles.  All were the same with black dots, except one that was just solid.  (Found that it is just a variation of the others) I caught two of them, and was able to get good pics.  The one in the picture below is a bean leaf beetle, and apparently can cause a lot of damage.   What is a organic remedy for these pests?
Madge


Tan version of the Bean Leaf Beetle.  All have the black triangle.

Also found this Spotted Cucumber Beetle right on one of my beautiful Heirloom Pickling Cucumber flowers.  
I was not able to get that little pest, but I did get a picture.  I will be out there in the morning.    
Again what is an organic remedy for this beetle.  
Madge

Well, there may be other ways, (and someone else will inform us) but what I've been doing every morning after I let the chickens out, is to walk over to my SFG, look at my cucumber vines, and start with the silly little sing-song, "Here, buggie, buggie, buggie: Who wants to play Squish-A-Bug?"    {Yup, sometimes I am a little nutty}
    Now, my problem is striped cucumber beetle, but it may well be the same for your bean leaf beetle. I put one hand below a leaf, as I move my other hand to grab from the side, or above (these bugs like to just drop!) So, either way, I'm likely to catch one --except when it decides to take flight.
I've gotten over my squeamishness, and can get rid of more now, than when I used to walk over to drop'em into a little bucket, or try to squash'em with a stick, or dead leaf or whatever. Meanwhile, my boyfriend's non-SFG has some great cukes, but many of the leaves are getting dry, curled and brown: he doesn't play Squish-A-Bug (and he waters with the hose, from above, wetting all the leaves of his plants.  )
[You posted again while I was typing; my advice is the same. But you don't have to chant, if you don't want to   ]

Nicola, thank you. Yeah I squished the one in my hand above. But I like your chant, will have to try that.
I think the striped cucumber beetle is similar to the spotted ones. The pics of both were on the bug ID page.
Madge

Close to the cucumber flower with the spotted cucumber beetle was another flower with tiny ants on it. I did not expect to see ants. My picture is really not good enough to identify which ants these are, but I suspect they are sugar ants. Which I believe go after the honeydew from Aphids, but I am not sure if they kill the aphids. I wonder if they help with pollination.
Madge

The ant may simply be after the nectar and pose no threat, unlike the other beasts. They won't kill the aphids, but soap spray will.

camprn, thanks. Do your have a recipe for the soap spray, or is that the one with baking soda?
Madge

I've had many years of trying to rid my garden of these cuke beetles.
Here are a couple of methods I have tried.

A clear beer bottle with a cottonball inside dabbed with clove oil (their attracted to it),
a yellow flower outside using that color to draw them in...(didn't work for me)

Bright yellow objects around the plants coated with tanglefoot (a very sticky substance)
got a few.

A small dish of soapy water, they drop into when chased..ok if they don't run off

An electronic workers needlenose pliers (type that springs back open)
this works when one if fast and accurate enough

A few other methods I probably forgot.
Now I'm trying to spray the entire plant with NEEM oil concentrate, 1 tblsp per gallon.
Using this on my cucumber and zucchini plants is hopefully working.
From what I have read, to my understanding the neem will affect an insect that chews on a plant,
however not the pollinators.
Since I started using this last week I have noticed very good results..
The bugs may have run their course though...time will tell

jimmy cee,
Thanks for all of your experiences. Overall, did they affect your crop?
Madge

Nicola,

I love your chant. My own is, "Come here, Mrs. Cabbage Moth, and you won't live to regret it."

If you can, you must control the cucumber beetles, they are vectors for virus that will indeed kill the cucumber and any squash plant they infect.

Yeah, they killed over a dozen of my cucumber plants.

Spraying milk diluted half and half on my plants helped a lot. The wilt got under control, leaves got more robust, and for whatever reason (breeding cycle? milk effect? luck?) the beetles hardly every show up now either.

Just an FYI, there are several generations of cucumber beetles throughout the season.

Yeah, I figured so. I think I'll spray with milk regularly just in case, though, whether it's to keep control over bacterial wilt and/or opportunistic viruses, beetles, or all three at the same time. Thus far, it hasn't hurt and if anything the turn-around was pretty dramatic.

I'm keeping an open mind to the idea that milk being off-putting to bugs is a bunch of hooey, though. One happy result is small enough to be regarded as merely anecdotal evidence. But I'm glad I got the happy result!

I only found one cucumber beetle today, just knocked him right into a cup of soapy water.  I checked several times and took my camera. I did find several yellow and black striped flies, which I think this pic is a beneficial marmalade hoverfly.  Here is a link to identifying hoverflys. http://abugblog.blogspot.com/2011_08_01_archive.html  I have looked at so many bug pictures. 
 What do you all think?
Madge

Sure looks like a hover fly or Syrphidae. Maybe Allograpta sp.? What I've read, they are beneficial, at least not a pest.

New Beetle found in my garden today.  Looking at http://www.insectidentification.org/insect-description.asp?identification=Big-Dipper-Firefly, this sure looks like mine.  Although this does not look like the typical firefly that I see around here.  So is it a firefly?  Are they good or bad?
Madge

looks like a fire fly beetle to me. Good guy.
http://diet.yukozimo.com/what-do-fireflies-eat/

Thanks camprn, I am thankful for another good guy.
Madge

My potatoes have lots of tiny holes, so looking closely I saw tiny black bugs.  From bug guide it looks like I have flea beetles.  

I sprinkled with DE tonight and will see how that does.  I am trying for an organic solution.  Any ideas for the best solution appreciated.
Madge

 

Well the Diatomaceous Earth experiment with flea beetles on my potato plants is a bust.  Three days later, the little buggers are walking right through it, just like I gave them a treat. 
Madge

My understanding is that after plants become large and well established and there are flea beetles, there is very little cause for alarm. The plants typically overcome any minor damage inflicted by the flea beetles. At least that is the way it goes in my garden.

campern, thank you, I did not know that.  It is amazing sometimes how nature takes care of itself, if only we stay out of the way.
Madge