They are quite a fancy bunch of bugs. :)

That's a good idea Lynn. Or maybe I will get out there this evening when it cools down and just collect some of the seeds they haven't gotten to yet. But now, if I don't "get around to it" I can throw a bag over some.

This is the 23rd cicada shell found on daylily foliage.




Grapevine Beetle.



ID'd as Neurocolpus arizonae

F



G - ID'd as possible green lacewing larvae.

F is a "true bug" in the family Miridae, it looks like a Neurocolpus sp. but which one is not easy to say.

http://bugguide.net/node/view/...

First impression is the colouring is like Neurocolpus nubilus but some photos there are someone's guess..

http://bugguide.net/node/view/...

Looking more closely, it looks a good match for Neurocolpus arizonae, they are often so similar from one species to the next you either need a very clear shot and an expert eye or a specimen. Often it comes down to the length and/or colour of a segment of the antennae, or how far apart the tiny hairs are on the 'wing covers'.

http://bugguide.net/node/view/...

G .. Looks like a Green Lacewing larva but could be a related species.

http://bugguide.net/node/view/...

http://bugguide.net/node/view/...

Thank you so much, Janet.

I've been seeing the cicada shells all over different plants but I thought it was strange I've found several on the tomato plants.

Interesting bugs dormantsrule. I had no idea there were so many specific 'plant bugs' out there.
Something on the back of that beetle? What's eating Grapevine Beetle. Maybe his name is Gilbert.

Great IDing Janet!!

I picked up this book at the library yesterday and it weighs more than I do. I'm hoping to become more familiar with bugs and insects to learn which ones I need to be concerned with.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/...


The grapevine beetles have chosen the backdoor screen as their clubhouse in June last year and '13. The strange thing about the cicada shells is I've yet to see or hear a cicada. I thought that these might be periodical cicadas but was told that periodical cicadas are often smaller, (and black and orangish-red as adults.) and are active in mid-May through about mid-June; whereas the annual cicada are active from July to possibly September. So I assume my shells are from annuals.

Aphid nymphs?

It sure looks like them - great photo

The white things are shed skin as the aphid grows, they often look like aphids with legs intact.

Keep an eye open for tiny wasps, there's some which inject their eggs into aphids which mummifies the aphid until the wasp emerges. I think I can see a tiny wasp on the left side.

Good eye catching those aphids, dormantsrule.

And really good eye Janet spotting that tiny wasp on the left. It made me look further and I think I see two more on the uppper right side.

Nature at work! Always amazing to me.

You're right Christine! The lower of the two is camouflaged by the wings gleaming like a shed skin!

Any ideas on this one? It was "hiding" in a lily bulblet growing just at the soil surface. When I rinsed it off and set it on a white paper, it walked out...

Butt to antennae ends, it is no more than 1mm. To the naked eye, it looked like a really miniscule crab, with the antennae masquerading as pincers.

Wow, it looks like it's trying to mimic a scorpion.

Rick, I have never seen one of these, so I am naturally jealous!

It's a Pseudoscorpion, most live in leaf litter and predate on other tiny bugs. It appears there is also a (or more) house species!

http://thingsbiological.wordpr...

http://ento.psu.edu/extension/...

Janet that is so cool. I wish I could find one.
Great find Rick, they are protecting/patrolling your lilies.

Oh, too cool! And a great photo!

Thanks, Janet! In fact, when the arachnid first walked into view, the two claws formed a "C" shape like a crab (or scorpion), and looked even more cool. When I came back with the camera and took the paper outside for better light, they formed more of a "V" when I snapped the shot. I am so ignorant when it comes to arthropods: I just assume those were antennae because they had all those segments.

So once again I feel "proud" of what I find. Letting your yard go a little wild, rather than being so manicured, has its advantages!

I've only had my new camera for about a month. Certainly not as good as it could be for extreme close ups, but I still wanted it to pocketable so I compromised. I splurged and got a Sony RX100M2. The auto mode is really crappy for anything remotely close up, but it didn't take me long to remedy that with manual settings! The auto mode on my old point and shoot camera (Panasonic Lumix TZ4) was pretty good for close ups - http://garden.org/thread/view_...
Thanks for that ID, too, Janet!

You're welcome Rick.

I think I need to spend some time rummaging through leaf litter! You are at a distinct advantage leaving leaves over winter, many predators hide under them. If you remove them you will not only be removing a safe haven for predators, you will also more than likely be killing them through shredding, burning or sending them to a recycling plant which in this country gets treated with heat.

Leaf litter also provides valuable winter protection for your plants and bulbs. In our very harsh winter 2010/11 which never rose above freezing for 7 weeks, with temperatures down to -17C, when tidying up in spring (if you can call it spring!) I found two apples buried under leaves which were not at all affected by frost!

Cameras have moved on so very quickly in the space of a few years, not long ago it would have been unthinkable to put 20mp on a DSLR let alone a prosumer or compact camera. You might get better results if you use spot focus and if the camera allows, also metering to match, that is unless you haven't already tried it. I find manual shooting to be so much better than auto for macro photography, auto does have it's uses for distance shots. For such a small bug you got some reasonable shots anyway, now you can see how much fun it is on the road to discovery!