Category: Bugs & Pests

What’s wrong with my pepper plant?

Post author By Barbara
Post date April 14, 2011
2 Comments on What’s wrong with my pepper plant?

Hi Chris, My Pepper plant in this photo is looking very sad and I don’t see any nasties on it. But I do notice that the growth tip looks all bunched up. What could this be? I have to say that I have planted at least 8 substantial seedlings in the past six months and they all are not flourishing. I took a photo of the only one that seems to have survived. The others are either dried up or on their way out. Even in the planter, they are not thriving. Perhaps it has been a very hot summer. But maybe it is something else! How are your peppers doing? I really want to get these growing because they are pricey and I would so prefer to grab one from the garden when I really want one!

They are better known as Bell Peppers – Capsicum annum – and they come in a variety of colours (red, yellow, green and purple) and the green version is the unripe fruit. They are full of vitamins, nutrients and anti-oxidants! So worthwhile having these growing in the garden. Help!

Tags bell pepper, Capsicum annuum, green pepper, pepper, sweet pepper

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What Beetle is this and does it matter?

Post author By Christine
Post date April 2, 2011
4 Comments on What Beetle is this and does it matter?

This morning I found these two beetles on my potato bush. They are not unattractive – yellow and black markings that appear to be unique on each beetle. Their legs are bright yellow and the antennae are black. I’m guessing they eat the leaves but couldn’t find a single leaf with tell-tale holes in them so I’m not sure. Maybe they actually eat the Gardenia shrubs which are all around the pot I have this bush in – The Gardenias have lots of leaves that shows signs of being some beetles favourite meal. I’d be really happy if they’d eat the potato bush instead.

I’ve been Googling “black and yellow beetle” and “beetles” and haven’t been able to find a single beetle that looks anything like this, so if anyone sees this and knows what it is I’d be most grateful for a comment left below.

Here are the photographs (Click to enlarge).

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Happy gardening!
xxx

Tags beetle, Bugs & Pests

Barbie's garden Bugs & Pests Gardening Home page features Miscellaneous

What are Solifuges?

Have you ever in your life seen anything so weird as this?? Found this on our outside deck! Had to do some research on this creature – Hannes calls it a haarskeeder!

Members of the order Solifugae, usually referred to as solifuges, solifugids, solpugids or by an assortment of vernacular names (e.g., camel spiders, false spiders, haarskeerders, jagspinnekoppe, jerrymanders, roman spiders, sun spiders, walzenspinnen, wind scorpions), are a diverse and fascinating, yet poorly known, order of specialized, mostly nocturnal, cursorial hunting arachnids notable for their massively powerful two-segmented chelicerae, voracious appetite, and tremendous speed (Punzo, 1998). They constitute the sixth most diverse order of arachnids in number of families, genera, and species (Harvey, 2002). Many solifuges are able to run at extremely fast speeds (53 cm/sec) for short bursts, but like most arachnids, cannot sustain such rapid locomotion for long periods. Solifuges vary from a few millimeters to 10 centimeters in length and look superficially like stout, hairy, fast-running spiders with an extra pair of legs (leg-like, sensory pedipalps, held out in front of the body).

Sunspiders are not really spiders. They are a very important animal group in Namibia, which has the highest diversity of sunspiders in the world, and many peculiar endemic species. According to current theories, Namibia is also the place from where sunspiders evolved. As part of the research project, three scientists from Germany are in Namibia to collect sunspiders for research.

Reference from:- http://www.solpugid.com/Introduction.htm

Tags camel spider, haarskeeder, solfuges, solfugid, sun spider

Barbie's garden Bugs & Pests Gardening Home page features Miscellaneous

Whats bugging me today!

Hi Chris, I was so interested in your blog post the other day on the bugs and creatures in your garden, that I decided to take a walk around my garden too, to see if I can also come up with some interesting bug-a-boos! I was so amazed at what I saw! Maybe you and our friends out there can recognise some of them!

[one_half]Cabbage White Butterfly caterpillar[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Aphids and ants on my rosebuds[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Huge moth – not sure what it is![/one_half]

[one_half_last]Grasshopper – well camouflaged[/one_half_last]

[one_half]What is this bug??[/one_half]

[one_half_last]White fly – look how small[/one_half_last]

Tags aphids, Bugs & Pests, cabbage white butterfly caterpillars, grasshopper, moth, white fly

Bugs & Pests Christine's garden Gardening Home page features

Sunday Bugs

A walk around the garden this morning to access what I need to do today after the heat of yesterday reveals plenty of work and evidence of the wildlife munching on my plants.

Here’s who was in my garden today … (Click to enlarge. Apologies for the quality of some of the photos – I’m still learning how to use the macro lens).

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I’m not keen to kill everything that is eating my plants. Aphids … those I have to zap (and white fly etc), the cutworms have to go and those that decimate my Lilies? Sorry guys, not on my turf!

But beetles and caterpillars? I think they all serve a purpose in the garden so i’m leaving them be. I hope they enjoyed the lunch!

Tags aphids, beetle, Bugs & Pests, caterpillar, cutworm

Bugs & Pests Christine's garden Gardening Home page features

Gardening and Macro Photography

Post author By Christine
Post date March 1, 2011
3 Comments on Gardening and Macro Photography

At long last I received the Macro lens for the camera and what a learning experience this is going to be! No quick point-and-shoot photos anymore, this is a whole new experience and I obviously have lots I need to learn. I’m not a good photographer at the best of times (strictly a happy-snapper!) so photography with a macro lens is going to be quite a learning curve for me. I thought I’d share the first photographs I’ve managed to take. They didn’t turn out too badly but I have to be honest and say that of the nine photos I’m happy to share and publish on the blog, there are about ninety that are awful … so clearly I have to experiment and learn how to do this properly!

So here we are, my first Macro Photographs (click to enlarge):

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I really like the “Aphids on rose” photograph, but obviously I don’t like the aphids – I’m off to get rid of them now …

Happy gardening!
xxx

Tags aphids, gardening, macro lens, photography, rose

Bugs & Pests Christine's garden Gardening Home page features Miscellaneous

Yikes! Mushrooms! what to do?

Post author By Christine
Post date February 22, 2011
4 Comments on Yikes! Mushrooms! what to do?

Oh my, its certainly never dull in the garden is it? Just when I think I’m winning, something new pops up out of nowhere and I have a new issue to deal with. And novice-newbie gardener that I am, I really don’t know what to do with this new thing happening in one of the beds nor what is causing it. A full on growth of uninvited mushrooms – and there’s nothing magic about them! How did they get here? How can I prevent these or is it a good thing?

So here are the photographs of my “mushroom forest”. They are confined to this bed which is small and has growing in it Sacred Bamboo (Nandina Domestica), Dwarf Sacred Bamboo (Nandina Pygmaea) and Murraya Exotica. The area is shaded but gets light. The plants are all doing well in this bed, very well in fact. Lots of new healthy growth. No pests visible. So is this mushroom something to worry about and what should I do with it?

[one_half]Mushrooms[/one_half]

[one_half_last]A closer look[/one_half_last]

Tags gardening, mushrooms

Bugs & Pests Christine's garden Gardening Home page features

What critter is this?

This evening I’ve found another creature – it looks like a baby – and newbie-gardener that I am, I have no idea whether to leave it or remove it. Please help! Is it a grasshopper? It doesn’t look like a praying mantis to me, too fat. And I’ve noticed over the last few days that something is “eating” tiny holes in these flowers (sweet williams). I’d appreciate any help in identifying this little guy (total size is +/- 1.2 cm).

Happy gardening
xxx

PS: Yes I know, I need a Macro lens … working on it!

Tags baby, critter, garden, grasshopper, sweet william

Bugs & Pests Christine's garden Gardening Home page features

Praying Mantis in my garden

Post author By Christine
Post date February 20, 2011
10 Comments on Praying Mantis in my garden

[one_half]Praying Mantis[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Praying Mantis[/one_half_last]

So I don’t only have nasty aphids, ants and cutworm in my garden, today I was ecstatic to find a baby Praying Mantis! Happy Days! What these photos do prove though is that I desperately need a Macro Lens for for the Canon EOS 550D I am using.

I found this little guy whilst watering and loving my Gardenias early this evening (hence the darkness of the photographs). My Gardenias are looking about 100% better than they did last week which I attribute to the spraying with Epsom Salts and coffee grounds fertilising I did last Sunday. Its pretty amazing how well they have responded to the extra TLC. I’ve wondered for a while why this particular bed is virtually pest-free. I’ve never seen an aphid on any of the plants in this bed … could it be the Praying Mantises? This one is a baby, he is tiny, but if there is a baby there must be a Mom somewhere … and maybe a few brothers and sisters?

Praying mantises eat insects and other invertebrates such as other mantises, beetles, butterflies, spiders, crickets, grasshoppers and even spiders. If they could leave the spiders and butterflies, that would be nice, but I welcome this little family to my garden.

Tags critters, praying mantis

Barbie's garden Bugs & Pests Gardening Home page features

African Fruit Beetle

[one_half]African Fruit Beetle on my figs!![/one_half]

[one_half_last]African Fruit Beetle grub (image:wikipedia)[/one_half_last]

Hi Chris, I wanted to do a quick post before I start with a new work project. This darn thing is all over my figs. They are the African Fruit Beetle. Do you have these too? I did some research and found some interesting info.

(Pachnoda sinuata) the garden fruit chafer or brown-and-yellow fruit chafer, is a species of beetle found in Africa from the Congo Basin southwards. These insect pests can cause extensive amounts of damage to crops.

Adult beetles feed on flowers and fruit, often destroying them in the process which makes them unpopular with gardeners. They feed on overripe fruit, and favour roses, reason why they are also known as ‘rose beetles’ and fruit chafers. The beetle bores into the soft, ripe flesh of almost any fruit to extract the juices.While commonly found on exotic plants like roses and camellias, these beetles also feed on a range of indigenous plants including Acacia. Adults lay their eggs in manure and compost heaps or among plant roots. The pupae develop inside large, egg-shaped protective clay shells. This species is a popular prey species for many species of bird, such as red-wing starlings and Hadeda Ibises. (reference: From Wikipedia)

The big aha! for me was the grub! I did not know it came from this beetle!! I see it all over my garden when I dig in the veggie patch and the compost heep. The chickens love them! So that’s where they come from!!

How do we get rid of these!!? I don’t have Har-dee-dars coming into my garden, so I have to try something else!

Tags African Fruit Beetle, beetle, figs, grubs, Pachnoda sinuata