Not only is my garden overgrowing, the good, the bad and the ugly have also arrived! The bugs are having a party in the veggie patch and the rose bushes, but the army of ladybugs have taken control. I have left the aphids alone in the Artemesia – Powis Castle. I think it acts as a trap for them as they seem to do no harm to the bush. Within a week the ladybugs and the larvae have devoured them – the good and the ugly. This is the first time I have really seen the beneficial bugs taking over.
Have a look whats crawling in my garden …. the good ….
The ugly – Newborn larvae look sort of like tiny alligators. After only a few days, the larvae will be large enough to begin to molt (shed their skin), and they keep molting for as long as they are growing. You can find the molted skins on leaves if you look very hard. Here you can see the larvae and the pupa it came out of. They are voracious eaters, I believe. Looks like mommy ladybug has chosen the perfect bush – tons of aphids.
On the roses too.
The Aphids -they are the bad …..
What bugs are in your garden – friend or foe?
Happy Gardening xxxxxx
14 replies on “Bugs galore”
What an ode to the power of our beloved ladybugs. They’ve never looked so iconic on the artmesia. I wish more people knew of this powerful organic method of eradicating bad bugs, especially aphids.
Other than a few aphids on the roses my garden is surprisingly bug-free … but wait!! I speak to soon … they are coming, I am sure 🙂
PS: What IS that last plant? The photo of it is lovely!
Great bug photos. The only bugs I have problems with are aphids, which I control with soap spray, and scale, which I control with dormant oil spray. Even these pests are occasional though.
I pretty much welcome all bugs but with our recent snow the bugs are laying low and are gone…
Barbara, fantastic pics of all those tiny creatures. This year in the States (Midwest) we had less of the bad. I think this was due to the drought. Maybe they took pity on us!
Loved the photos. I let all the bugs duke it out amongst themselves. I have been lucky that the winners are ones I prefer. My plants get a lot of aphids, so anything that eats them is my hero.
I love posts about bugs on garden plants–especially when the “good” beneficial bugs are plentiful. It always amazes me when bugs are still around even during the cold months.
I see ladybugs in my garden, but rarely the nymphs. I guess I just overlook them. I have more spiders than I need, I think. I can rarely look at anything closely without seeing a spider, or two (or three).
I know what you mean – some times I walk right into a huge web because they appear overnight!
My big problem is Aphids – they are all over, so my ladybugs are so welcome! 🙂
I wish would find one ladybug in my garden! I saw ONE last year, and have never seen any again since. I don’t spray at all. You’re so lucky to have so many.
Thanks Marilyn – it is my first year that I see so many of them – and breeding. I also noticed that they stay in Fennel flowers, and it is my first time I have planted fennel – so give it a try! This might bring them to your garden!!
I found a ladybug on my rosebud! So very exciting. It didn’t look like yours those; it was yellowish with a black design, but the shape was ladybug. I’m assuming it was a ladybug?! And I also found a baby praying mantis. Wonderful to have bug-eating bugs in the garden!
Aphids on artemesia? I’ve never known any pest to like that plant! Of course it never looks bad, so I can’t say that I’ve ever examined it closely…
I love that last white-flowered plant with the bee on it. What is it?
I know! I have nothing that cones near the Artemesia 🙂
The puffy white flower come from the Tea Tree bush – my first ever! So it is new to me!