Category Archives: Bugs

Polyphemus Caterpillar and Moth (4 photos)

This guy came crawling by the other day and was very impressive.  At first I thought it might be a Luna Moth caterpillar but unfortunately I don’t think we have them this far north.

I took photos of this large, slightly damaged Polyphemus Moth in 2011.  Incidentally, Polyphemus was the one-eyed son of Poseidon from the island of Cyclops in Greek mythology.

 

 

A Prickly Affair

A Western Yellowjacket (Vespula pensylvanica) queen mating with a male.  The fertilized queen will eventually go into hibernation for the winter. She will re-emerge in the spring, find a spot for a nest and lay a few eggs that will hatch and become her workers. She will spend the remainder of her time laying eggs. Alas, the male will die.

Bug Wars

Green Burgundy Stink Bug

I had noticed these bugs on my red currants for a number of years but didn’t give them much thought. A couple of days ago I decided to look them up and see what their story was. I already knew they were stink bugs and I thought that was their claim to fame. Unfortunately, I found out they also like to chew on tender shoots. I had noticed quite a bit of fruit drop on my red currants and had always suspected it may have been bird damage. I’m now convinced it was caused by the Green Burgundy Stink Bug (Banasa dimidiata).

Stripped Currants

We don’t use pesticides in our garden so I resorted to the old tried and true method of hand picking the bugs off. The first day I got about 50 bugs, the second day 20 and today about 10. I’ll continue picking each day until I see the last of them. I also use this method for slugs and sawfly larva and while a little tedious, it is effective. When picking I’m always coming across beneficial insects that would be killed by spraying so the time taken far outweighs the convenience of a quick, easy and deadly spray.