bogman, I planted a few of the recommended cilantro seeds, then it almost froze for a couple of nights. But I expect they’ll sprout within the week. Looking forward to it. I also planted a few beet, radish, and Italian chard seeds in the planter. I’m not orderly and I like to see a fanciful arrangement of things that are edible.
Do you have lacewings in your yard? I’ve had them to the point of being annoying while in the back yard at sundown, but sadly not in the past few years. I still have them, just not in annoying numbers. they take care of aphids like champs, and probably a lot of other bugs as well.
Food grade diatomaceous earth works, too, but they don’t do squat for aphids in my experience
If you find out what they are, let us know
Last year I had a lot of lacewings eggs, but I’m not sure if they hatched.
If bogman says aphid flyers, that’s hat I’m going with. Not that I’m doing anything about it. I sure get a lot of aphids. I did feed the plant. I need to get it out of that container.
I wish it would rain.
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There’s a reason for that: Diatomaceous earth contains sharp silica spicules which get into the joints and breathing pores (spiracles) of insects, causing minute punctures and damage to insects’ exoskeleton; they dry up.
Aphids don’t move much. And, an aphid can clone itself, pop out baby aphids at a frightening pace! Aphids often amass on tender, new growth, the part which often is above where you dusted a couple days ago. Unlike chewing insects, which must keep moving to feed, aphids have a straw-like mouthparts, a pair of stylets. The aphids puncture plant vessels and sip the juices; they don’t need to move. So, the abrasion from diatomaceous earth is minimal.
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The larvae of Lacewings “Aphid Lions” are easy to miss. They’re often green, small and with short legs. They kind of remind me of tiny alligators, by the shape. Another group of easy-to-miss aphid predators are the tiny maggots of Syrphid flies. There are also really tiny wasps, Braconids, which lay eggs inside an aphid. The larvae consumes the aphid from the inside and leaves a pale, hollow shell, an “aphid mummy” when it emerges, like a scene from the Alien movie! The tiny adult wasps look like little gnats, about the size of a millet grain.
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Makes good sense. That’s why God gave us green lacewings
And Brown Lacewings! Some of those adults mimic dead leaves. Most are voracious aphid predators.
Bugs really are cool. One of my favorite predatory insect groups are Mantisflies, Mantispids. Some years there are a lot and then I don’t see them for years.
This one was sitting on some insect netting, in our nursery:
Some years back, there were tons of Green Mantisflies, but I haven’t seen them since.
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Close, but I’m pretty sure that’s a Small Milkweed Bug. Lygaeus kalmii, which is harmless unless one is growing lots of milkweed relatives and is concerned about plant virus transmission. We have both Large and Small Milkweed Bugs out here. A bunch of milkweed eaters sequester toxins from the plant and are brightly-colored to warn would-be predators, much like the Monarch butterfly does.
There’s also a bright red, spotted beetle which feeds on milkweeds, Tetraopes (“four-eyes”) tetrophthalmus. If you hold one of these close to your ear, you can often hear them squeaking! A bunch of Longhorned Beetles (Cerambycidae) squeak. Some have strong mandibles, so keep fingers away from those.
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Thank you! This one was in my window on the second floor, so I thought it might be one that tries to get inside. I also had a "house centipede " in my house this week, but didn’t stop to take a picture.
Your seeds have sprouted!
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Oooo! What kind?
Calypso cilantro. Supposedly slow-bolting.
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Nice! Looks like good germination and lively seedlings.
So far, so good! (Is what I say every year at this time.)
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Full film.
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Turns out it was probably a red-shouldered hawk! I found 5he coolest app today, that let’s you record and identify bird sounds!
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That’s a fine garden guardian (gardenian?) ! Those hawks are abundant here and go after squirrels, mice, rabbits, snakes, voles, rats, etc. They also eat frogs. I made a pool for Wood Frogs to breed in, along with Spotted Salamanders. One day, when the frogs were breeding, the hawk started picking them off. So, I put a bunch of hoops and brush over the pool, so the bird couldn’t just swoop down for an easy meal.
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