Square Foot Gardening Forum
[table bgcolor=#000000 height=275][tr][td]
Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest? Toplef10Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest? 1zd3ho10

Hello Guest!
Welcome to the official Square Foot Gardening Forum.
There's lots to learn here by reading as a guest. However, if you become a member (it's free, ad free and spam-free) you'll have access to our large vermiculite databases, our seed exchange spreadsheets, Mel's Mix calculator, and many more members' pictures in the Gallery. Enjoy.

Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest? I22gcj10Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest? 14dhcg10

[/td][/tr][/table]

Join the forum, it's quick and easy

Square Foot Gardening Forum
[table bgcolor=#000000 height=275][tr][td]
Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest? Toplef10Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest? 1zd3ho10

Hello Guest!
Welcome to the official Square Foot Gardening Forum.
There's lots to learn here by reading as a guest. However, if you become a member (it's free, ad free and spam-free) you'll have access to our large vermiculite databases, our seed exchange spreadsheets, Mel's Mix calculator, and many more members' pictures in the Gallery. Enjoy.

Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest? I22gcj10Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest? 14dhcg10

[/td][/tr][/table]
Square Foot Gardening Forum
Would you like to react to this message? Create an account in a few clicks or log in to continue.
Search
 
 

Display results as :
 

 


Rechercher Advanced Search

Latest topics
» Mark's first SFG
by OhioGardener Yesterday at 3:24 pm

» What Have You Picked From Your Garden Today
by markqz Yesterday at 2:56 pm

» Kiwi's SFG Adventure
by KiwiSFGnewbie 12/9/2023, 10:25 pm

» Hi from Western Australia
by OhioGardener 12/9/2023, 11:10 am

» N & C Midwest: November/December 2023
by JAM23 12/8/2023, 6:49 pm

» Strawberry Varieties?
by sanderson 12/5/2023, 3:57 pm

» Recommended store bought compost - Photos of composts
by sanderson 12/4/2023, 1:27 pm

» Jerusalem Artichoke or Sun Choke
by Scorpio Rising 12/4/2023, 7:09 am

» Strawberries in MM: to feed or not to feed?
by sanderson 12/3/2023, 7:30 pm

» Senseless Banter...
by sanderson 11/28/2023, 10:31 pm

» FREE Online SFG Class - November 28, 2023
by sanderson 11/27/2023, 9:21 pm

» Mini-Raised Beds?
by Chuck d'Argy 11/27/2023, 2:14 pm

» Happy Birthday!!
by sanderson 11/26/2023, 10:58 pm

» Name the mystery (to me) seedlings! :-)
by Psdumas 11/25/2023, 12:04 am

» Happy Thanksgiving from the USA
by sanderson 11/23/2023, 1:47 pm

» Guatemalan Green Ayote Squash
by OhioGardener 11/21/2023, 8:27 am

» Seeds 'n Such Early Order Seeds
by sanderson 11/20/2023, 1:13 pm

» USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map
by OhioGardener 11/19/2023, 7:12 am

» AeroGarden for starting seeds?
by OhioGardener 11/16/2023, 12:40 pm

» Biochar?
by OhioGardener 11/16/2023, 10:31 am

» 2023 - Updated U.S. Interactive Plant Hardiness Map
by sanderson 11/15/2023, 6:18 pm

» SFG Is Intensive Gardening
by sanderson 11/14/2023, 3:26 pm

» Teaming with Microbes Kindle Sale (Mem. Day weekend 2023)
by markqz 11/10/2023, 12:42 am

» Bok Choy Hors d'oeuvres
by donnainzone5 11/9/2023, 5:58 pm

» Now is the Time to Start Preparing Next Year's Spring Garden
by OhioGardener 11/9/2023, 7:13 am

» Shocking Reality: Is Urine the Ultimate Gardening Hack or Disaster?
by dstack 11/6/2023, 5:29 pm

» Nightmare on Mel Street.
by Scorpio Rising 11/4/2023, 6:37 pm

» Aerogardening
by Scorpio Rising 11/3/2023, 10:02 am

» Sunday All Purpose Organic Garden Nutrients
by lisawallace88 11/3/2023, 9:13 am

» Mid-summer seed sowing, how do you do it?
by KiwiSFGnewbie 11/2/2023, 8:04 pm

Google

Search SFG Forum

Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest?

4 posters

Go down

Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest? Empty Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest?

Post  Fiz 7/4/2017, 6:18 pm

Anyone know what this little bug is and whether I should be happy, indifferent, or alarmed? I'm seeing a few here and there around my plants. Thanks in advance!

Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest? Img_6227
Fiz
Fiz

Male Posts : 152
Join date : 2017-05-09
Age : 43
Location : Markham, ON

Back to top Go down

Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest? Empty Re: Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest?

Post  Robbomb116 7/4/2017, 8:50 pm

Any plants in particular it's hanging around?
Robbomb116
Robbomb116

Male Posts : 364
Join date : 2016-07-07
Age : 34
Location : Bismarck ND, Zone 4a

Back to top Go down

Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest? Empty Re: Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest?

Post  BeetlesPerSqFt 7/4/2017, 9:12 pm

Beneficial, so you should be happy. It's good! cheers
Here is a similar fly (might be the same species, might not - there's a bunch of them that are hard to tell apart):
http://bugguide.net/node/view/414709

This fly belongs to the Long-Legged Family of flies (Dolichopodidae). Of this family, Kaufman's Field Guide to Insects of North America says, "These flies are predators, especially on mites, aphids, and smaller flies."
BeetlesPerSqFt
BeetlesPerSqFt

Female Posts : 1439
Join date : 2016-04-11
Location : Port Matilda, PA Zone 5b/6a LF:5/11-FF:10/10

Back to top Go down

Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest? Empty Re: Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest?

Post  Fiz 7/4/2017, 9:43 pm

Wahoo! Thank for the ID, Beetles! I credit my fungus gnat population for bringing theee guys around. I'll keep an eye out and see if I can catch any action. :-)

As far as plant preference goes, I haven't noticed any patterns but the one I snapped the picture of was one a eggplant leaf, if I recall correctly.


Last edited by Fiz on 7/4/2017, 9:45 pm; edited 2 times in total (Reason for editing : Smart phone keyboard woes.)
Fiz
Fiz

Male Posts : 152
Join date : 2017-05-09
Age : 43
Location : Markham, ON

Back to top Go down

Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest? Empty Re: Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest?

Post  Robbomb116 7/11/2017, 8:05 am

I have a feeling this one is likely not beneficial... on my delicata squash.
Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest? 20170732

Los ood tiny bugs around what would appear to be a nest.
Robbomb116
Robbomb116

Male Posts : 364
Join date : 2016-07-07
Age : 34
Location : Bismarck ND, Zone 4a

Back to top Go down

Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest? Empty Re: Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest?

Post  BeetlesPerSqFt 7/11/2017, 8:44 am

I've had some mistaken identity issues like this, too, so don't be embarrassed - but I think that's bird poop with seeds in it -- which may well have attracted some bugs. Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest? 3555472862 Wash it off and you should be good to go.
BeetlesPerSqFt
BeetlesPerSqFt

Female Posts : 1439
Join date : 2016-04-11
Location : Port Matilda, PA Zone 5b/6a LF:5/11-FF:10/10

Back to top Go down

Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest? Empty Re: Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest?

Post  Robbomb116 7/11/2017, 8:48 am

Oops. Well I was right it wasn't beneficial! Just nothing to worry about...
Robbomb116
Robbomb116

Male Posts : 364
Join date : 2016-07-07
Age : 34
Location : Bismarck ND, Zone 4a

Back to top Go down

Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest? Empty Re: Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest?

Post  Fiz 7/11/2017, 12:57 pm

Haha, I was quite alarmed when I saw that. Looked plague-ish! Glad to hear it's just poop.

In the meantime, is this what I think it is (read: cabbage moth?), and if so, I hope they're not laying eggs anywhere.

Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest? Img_6234
Fiz
Fiz

Male Posts : 152
Join date : 2017-05-09
Age : 43
Location : Markham, ON

Back to top Go down

Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest? Empty Re: Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest?

Post  Robbomb116 7/11/2017, 1:21 pm

It is a white cabbage butterfly. The plant it's on looks like an eggplant? If so it's not laying eggs there, but it could actually be pollinating your eggplants! It's kinda strange, but the adults are valuable pollinators (we'll take what we can get) but the larva are pretty destructive to brassicas. If you got any brassicas nearby that aren't covered I work keep an eye out for the eggs and caterpillars. The caterpillars are TINY! I've found that like to hide on the underside of the leaves and in the "rib" of the leaves. They blend in very well.
Robbomb116
Robbomb116

Male Posts : 364
Join date : 2016-07-07
Age : 34
Location : Bismarck ND, Zone 4a

Back to top Go down

Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest? Empty Re: Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest?

Post  sanderson 7/12/2017, 6:22 pm

In the summer, I don't have any brassicas, but the white butterfly still visits. I have found the green caterpillars on bean, tomato and cantaloupe leaves. Shocked Emergency maternity wards?

____________________________

Find more about Weather in Fresno, CA
Click for weather forecast
sanderson
sanderson

Forum Administrator

Female Posts : 21338
Join date : 2013-04-21
Age : 75
Location : Fresno CA Zone 8-9

https://connect.xfinity.com/appsuite/#!!&app=io.ox/mail&

Back to top Go down

Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest? Empty Re: Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest?

Post  Fiz 7/12/2017, 10:49 pm

Yeah, hopefully it was pollinating! I don't have any brassicas either right now.
Fiz
Fiz

Male Posts : 152
Join date : 2017-05-09
Age : 43
Location : Markham, ON

Back to top Go down

Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest? Empty Re: Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest?

Post  Robbomb116 7/14/2017, 2:51 am

Went out at night and caught this guy red handed munching on my carrot tops.
Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest? 20170745
Robbomb116
Robbomb116

Male Posts : 364
Join date : 2016-07-07
Age : 34
Location : Bismarck ND, Zone 4a

Back to top Go down

Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest? Empty Re: Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest?

Post  BeetlesPerSqFt 7/14/2017, 9:08 am

Cutworm. Rather voracious, and not picky. There are many kinds - they all turn into moths.
This one might be the Variegated Cutworm... but as with many groups of insects, there's a bunch that all look very similar.
http://bugguide.net/node/view/1222879/bgimage
BeetlesPerSqFt
BeetlesPerSqFt

Female Posts : 1439
Join date : 2016-04-11
Location : Port Matilda, PA Zone 5b/6a LF:5/11-FF:10/10

Back to top Go down

Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest? Empty Re: Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest?

Post  Robbomb116 7/15/2017, 10:55 am

?Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest? 20170754
Robbomb116
Robbomb116

Male Posts : 364
Join date : 2016-07-07
Age : 34
Location : Bismarck ND, Zone 4a

Back to top Go down

Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest? Empty Re: Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest?

Post  BeetlesPerSqFt 7/15/2017, 4:15 pm

Nice find! Rather Victorian in style... I haven't seen that one in person yet, but it is a Virginia creeper clearwing moth.
http://bugguide.net/node/view/961785/bgimage

The moths in the clearwing-borer group are active during the day time rather than at night, and have larvae that are borers, rather than leaf-feeding caterpillars. Several are wasp mimics. The dreaded Squash Vine Borer is also in this group. (But the hummingbird clearwing and snowberry clearwing moths belong to the sphinx moth group, not the clearwing-borer group.)

Virginia creeper is a native plant many consider to be a weed. Some people get contact dermatitis from it, so it gets confused with poison ivy even though it has leaves in groups of 5, not 3. So unless you are trying to grow Virginia creeper, this moth is neutral from a gardening point of view.
BeetlesPerSqFt
BeetlesPerSqFt

Female Posts : 1439
Join date : 2016-04-11
Location : Port Matilda, PA Zone 5b/6a LF:5/11-FF:10/10

Back to top Go down

Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest? Empty Re: Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest?

Post  Robbomb116 8/8/2017, 8:08 am

Found this guy on my squash plant last night. I'm not thinking he's bad, but I don't seeBeneficial, Neutral, or Pest? 20170810
much of the nocturnal bugs so I'm not sure.
Robbomb116
Robbomb116

Male Posts : 364
Join date : 2016-07-07
Age : 34
Location : Bismarck ND, Zone 4a

Back to top Go down

Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest? Empty Re: Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest?

Post  BeetlesPerSqFt 8/8/2017, 9:05 am

She. I'm pretty sure, based on the wings elsewhere on the leaf, that you've photographed a queen ant who has just de-winged herself.

But as to beneficial, neutral, or pest, it depends on the species (I don't have a clue about what species yours is) - and the gardener. Some ants kill other pests, other ants 'farm' them (often aphids are the livestock, sometimes leafhoppers and scale bugs.) Some ants bite/sting gardeners, others don't. Some ants chew cavities into wood that people are still using for houses and raised bed boxes. Ant tunneling in the earth/MM helps naturally 'plow' and aerate your soil.

I personally draw the line at house invasion; ants in my garden/yard are free to do whatever (but I may kill their livestock if they are on my garden plants). However, my ants aren't fire ants, and I haven't had them bite me.
BeetlesPerSqFt
BeetlesPerSqFt

Female Posts : 1439
Join date : 2016-04-11
Location : Port Matilda, PA Zone 5b/6a LF:5/11-FF:10/10

Back to top Go down

Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest? Empty Re: Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest?

Post  Robbomb116 8/8/2017, 9:39 am

Thought it might be a queen ant. And as far as where so draw the line on ants, I think we are exactly on the same page.
Robbomb116
Robbomb116

Male Posts : 364
Join date : 2016-07-07
Age : 34
Location : Bismarck ND, Zone 4a

Back to top Go down

Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest? Empty Re: Beneficial, Neutral, or Pest?

Post  Sponsored content


Sponsored content


Back to top Go down

Back to top

- Similar topics

 
Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum