Helpful Garden Insects Archives – Strength Of The Small

Dragonfly Invertebrates Nature Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Fall Blooming Beauties

By JM PerezOctober 27, 20182 min read644 views

It’s been a while since it rained, so we are grateful for Saturday’s much needed rain.
The weather’s great. The plants are thriving with their leaves changing colors and starting to fall. Somehow, I am missing the Raywood Ash tree this year.

A few of the plants in my gardens are blooming profusely this Fall. A variety of Daylilies, Trumpet Creepers, Roses, Mums, Snapdragons, Hibiscus and Gaura are still blooming. Many Hibiscus are not cold-hardy in the High Desert, so they have to be taken indoors over the winter.

Oddly, I find Mums the prettiest in fall, especially Orange Mums. They are one of my favorites plants and stunning blooming beauties.

I love Bougainvilleas for their stunning flowers and colors. I planted a few many years ago, they lasted a couple of years and died. While digging them out, I found curl grubs (the larvae of different species of beetle) feeding on the roots of the plants. I will give this plant another shot.

Snapdragon are also on my list of favorite plants. This plant will self-seed if its flower-head is left untouched at the end of the growing season. Just a few weeks ago, I had some white and orange flowers.

Baby Sun Rose cascading over the side of its hanging container.

Asparagus Plumosus look great in hanging containers and large planters. I have had the one below for six years now, divided and repotted a few times and they keep coming back every year. Be careful while handling the plant as its stems have thorns and the plant can irritate the skin.

Like a magnet, the rain brought out insects …
I spotted a large black bee, possibly a carpenter bee, collecting pollen from flowers.

I wasn’t always fond of Praying Mantises. However, many years ago, after finding out that they are beneficial garden insects, every sight of them became a breath of fresh air. I am an avid gardener, I planned my own landscape design and created my front and backyard gardens from scratch. I have so many plants and Praying Mantises as well as Ladybugs have been my garden silent helpers. While Ladybugs appear around Spring, Praying Mantises on the other hand have been seen all year round.
It’s amazing how they can turn their heads and look over their shoulders.

I found a dead dragonfly next to one of the Purpleleaf Cherry Plum trees and felt a little sad. What a beautiful and fascinating creature.

Wishing you all a peaceful and productive day.

Happy gardening!

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By JM Perez

Flies Wasps Spiders Insects High Desert

Critters After the Rain

By JM PerezMarch 4, 20142 min read679 views

While walking in my backyard this morning, I found an insect resting on the leaves of my Coleonema Pulchrum. I searched online and found it to be an Ichneumon Wasp. I can’t tell if it’s a male or a female but I read somewhere however, that for most Ichneumons, the females have long ovipositors (sometimes longer than their body) and the males do not possess ovipositors.

The body of an Ichneumon Wasp consists of a thin waist with a very elongated abdomen and long antennae. They have five eyes which give them a wide range of vision. Ichneumon Wasps are considered beneficial insects as they are important parasitoids of other insects (living in or on a larger host and eventually killing it).

The pictures below are of that of a male Phidippus Johnsoni, also known as Red-backed Jumping Spider.
This particular species builds conspicuous tubular silky-like nests on the ground (under rocks, wood or debris). They remain inside their nests at night as well as during bad weather and prey during the day. They are sight hunters feeding on a wide variety of insects including spiders.

Both male and female have a bright red abdomen with the female exhibiting a black central stripe. The rest of the body is black. This species of spiders is very hairy. The Red-backed Jumping Spider bite is not fatal and only occurs when threatened, resulting in swelling and pain at the bite site lasting for several days.

It’s that time of year when Roses in the garden are being visited by Hoverflies.
Hoverflies are small to big flies with large heads, large eyes, and small antennae. They are important pollinators with some species imitating the appearance of Wasps and Bees to avoid predators (while they have two wings, Bees and the Wasps have four). They hover to attract mates and while feeding at flower blossoms or around aphid colonies. They are considered beneficial insects since their larvae feed on aphids, scales, thrips and caterpillars while adults feed on pollen and nectar.

The picture below is that of a Pied Hoverfly, with three pairs of white comma markings on the abdomen.

Click here to learn more about Jumping Spiders and here to learn more about Hoverflies.

The rain has passed and so insects and other critters come out from their hidings.

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By JM Perez

Insects Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Helpful Garden Insects

By JM PerezOctober 7, 20122 min read1.7K views

Living in the High Desert and being passionate about gardening can be challenging at times. Regardless of the care I give my plants, Powdery Mildew, white dusty spots found on leaves and sometimes on stems of plants, have always been an issue in my Rose garden during Fall and Spring; possibly due to the cool weather. I have had a few dieback, and lots of Aphids (plant lice) early this year. I use fertilizers on my plants and I have used fungicide to eradicate them and it worked on and off.

My Roses bloom all year round. This Summer, however, I didn’t see a single bloom and I noticed that the plants were a lot healthier. A couple of days ago, I spotted a Praying Mantis on my Camelot Hybrid Tea Rose and I smiled at the fact that it was there primarily to feed, which in turn helped keep my plants disease free.

*Praying Mantis on ‘Camelot Hybrid Tea Rose.’*

For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated with Praying Mantises, especially with their strange shape. Though I have always known of their advantages in the garden; I had never witness the marvelous results they produce. The Praying Mantises are wonderful insect control in the garden, as they feed on Aphids, caterpillars as well as other harmful and beneficial insects. The Praying Mantis is an insect which does not discriminate.

Other Helpful Garden Insects: