Insects Archives – Page 5 of 6 – Strength Of The Small

Insects Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Around The Garden

By JM PerezAugust 23, 20132 min read786 views

As Fall nears, colors are starting to show again in the garden. My Desert Willow, Texas Sage, Autumn Sage, Yellow Daisy, Oleanders, Gaura Lindheimeri, Plumbago Auriculata ‘Imperial Blue’, Snapdragon, most of the Roses and Gladiolus are blooming with a variety of colors.

Despite the hot temperatures, the Pumpkin vine has been thriving and producing lovely flowers of box sexes. Though there are no female blossoms yet, I have seen a couple of female buds which I will have to pollinate by hand for it to become a pumpkin (if there aren’t bees around to pollinate it). So far it’s looking promising.

Dainty Bess Hybrid Tea Rose, is one charming Rose. I instantly fell in love with the Rose when I saw it at Mark and Nellie’s Nursery a couple of years ago. The beautiful “Dainty Bess” single flowering rose with elegant stature and five light pink silky petals is one of my favorite repeat bloomer Roses. The flower opens and closes over its burgundy, purple or maroon stamens.

Dainty Bess Rose. — *Dainty Bess Hybrid Tea Rose (bred by Wm. E.B. & Archer, England 1925).*

Most of my mini Rose bushes are in bloom. I particularly loved the one below. It’s one of the Roses I bought from the 99¢ Only Stores early this year (smart way to grow a Garden for less).

Below is my miniature Rose “Let Freedom Ring.” I planted a couple in the front yard two years ago and just a few months ago they stopped flowering and looked like they were dying. So I moved them into a raised bed in the backyard and much to my amazement, they have been thriving ever since. Another 99¢ Only Stores purchase.

Finally, a Bee pollinating a Yellow Daisy.

I am feeling so grateful for every minute spent in my garden and for the wonderful moments with my family.
Happy Gardening!

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By JM Perez

Camel Spider Invertebrates Insects High Desert

Fascinating Creatures

By JM PerezMay 31, 20132 min read617 views

It’s a gorgeous day here today and the weather is bearable than the previous days. There will be no gardening for me today. Instead, I am making myself comfortable on one of my outdoors swings and sharing a few photos of fascinating creatures I spotted and photographed the last couple of days.

Yesterday on my way to check the mail, I spotted a Seaside Grasshopper next to the entry door. It stood still as I walked my way to the mail box. On my way back, the little creature was still there. I quickly grabbed my camera and took a photo. Usually they hop away when someone gets close, but this one didn’t move an inch (it probably didn’t feel threaten). As soon as I was done taking the photographs, it hoped away. As much as I enjoy looking at this picture, I am not fond of grasshopper as they often damage my beautiful plants.

Last Friday, after watering a few plants in the backyard and proceeding to move the trash cans out of the way and rake some dead leaves which has piled behind them, I saw a weird looking creature coming underneath one of the trash cans and moving really fast. Just by taking a quick look of it, I guessed it could be a spider perhaps? However, after seeing its large mouth and mouthparts, I had to research it.
It turns out that it is a Camel Spider also known as wind scorpions, sun spiders or solifuges. These little creatures have eight legs, move really fast and are carnivorous, eating insects and bugs such as: grasshoppers, spiders, crickets, lizards, small rodents and reptiles. Click here, here and here for more information.

A couple of days later, I spotted a Megachile, Brown Bee, twitching and spinning in circles on the ground. According to the website PesticideResearch.com, this is one of the symptoms of acute pesticide poisoning in bees. After a while of twitching and spinning around, it flew off.

I found a Soil Centipede hiding underneath a Garden Statue while hand weeding around my Daffodils. I found out that it can move both backwards and forwards and they will feed on pretty much anything that is soft-bodied and smaller than themselves such as larvae and worms.

According to WikiPedia, the centipede’s venom causes pain and swelling in the area of the bite, and may cause other reactions throughout the body. The majority of bites are not life-threatening to humans and present the greatest risk to children and those who develop allergic reactions.

Now back inside for some sweet tea and a quiet moment watching Les Misérables. I could watch it all day, every day without ever getting bored. It is beautiful, moving and features some of my favorite actors.

Wishing you all a lovely weekend and enjoy the rest of your day.

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By JM Perez

Ladybugs Spiders Insects Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Insects In The Garden

By JM PerezMay 3, 20131 min read932 views

For the past six years we have used our garage as storage for things we didn’t need in the house. It seems that for every item we’ve given away, we’ve somehow receive twice as much. This afternoon, we started re-organizing the garage, moving things around, sorting others in different boxes (those we are keeping, the giveaways and those we are simply getting rid of). I am always excited when we clean up because I know for sure that I will find items to donate to others in needs. I have learned never to hold on to things which no longer serve my needs and when it comes to donating I do it with love and never expecting anything in return, not even a simple thank you. My only reward is knowing that someone, hopefully, will put whatever they receive to good use.

While outdoors gardening, setting up the new planter and deadheading my roses, I found interesting bugs.

I spotted the Goldenrod Crab Spider above on the Judy Garland Rose pictured. It dropped off a flower petal when I got too close and landed on a stepping stone. Younger females especially tend to change color from white to yellow depending on their targeted flower (to blend in appropriately or become nearly invisible).

Wishing you a good night and a happy, fun-filled weekend.

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By JM Perez

Flies Insects

Still Pictures: Green Bottle Fly

By JM PerezApril 13, 20131 min read479 views

Walking around my Rose Garden this morning, I spotted a couple of Common Green Bottle Flies on my Chicago Peace® Hybrid Tea Rose (possibly feeding on aphids or their feces). Click here to learn more about this fly.

It’s a windy day here in the High Desert. I hope you are all safe and having a good time.

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By JM Perez

Ladybugs Insects Weather Nature High Desert

Ladybug Hunt

By JM PerezMarch 22, 20132 min read1.3K views

Today being an awesome day, we spent the whole afternoon Ladybug hunting. It was such a fun activity and the kids enjoyed it. These are some of the tools we used:

– Opened Jar/Trimmed Plastic Bottle
– Hammer and Nails (to pierce the lead for air, if you don’t want them to fly off right away or die)
– Small Branch (to watch them climb)
– Magnifying Glasses
– Lots of Patience

They started the search and once the kids had one on sight, they would carefully catch them, put them in a container, admire them for a little while and then release them back into the wild. They enjoy using their magnifying glasses and often end up finding/collecting a lot more than just ladybugs.

Spring 2012 (Ladybugs Hunt). — *Spring 2012 (Ladybugs Hunt) at Lake Gregory, CA.*

I have always known Ladybugs to be beneficial Garden bugs until a few months ago, when I found a few articles while looking for Vegetable Garden Ideas. I was surprised to learn that some species of these beauties are voracious pests themselves and the easiest way to figure out which is which is by counting the number, shape, and placement of the spots on their wing coverings.

Many species are beneficial to gardeners as they eat plant pests such as aphids, Cochineal, mealybug, mites, ground pearls, pit scales, cottony cushion scales and other scale insects. On the flip side, we have the Epilachninae, a different species of Ladybugs, which are herbivores, known as crop pests and are selective feeders (turnip, broccoli, cabbage, maize, beans, cotton and much more).

Before releasing Ladybugs in your garden to fight the good fight for you, make sure you are releasing the predators and not the herbivores. Click here to learn to identify the different species of Ladybugs.

Are Ladybugs in your home? Learn how to get rid of them here and here.
Click here to learn about Releasing Ladybugs in The Garden.

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By JM Perez