Monday, April 11, 2016

Insects in My Neighborhood in April

I have seen both beneficial insects and insect pests in my neighborhood this month. Here are some I was able to capture with my camera.


Insect Friends


I and my neighbors have many herbs that provide forage for bees and other welcome insect visitors. I love hearing my herbs buzz. Below is a happy bee on my rosemary. The bees are also enjoying my black sage. 

Below is a butterfly enjoying my black sage. They don't mind sharing the sage with the bees.



I was very happy when I saw a ladybug on my wormwood yesterday, but I was unable to get a photo because I was working and didn't have my camera handy. I do have a photo of a ladybug on a vetch plant not far from home, though.



Insect Pests

The reason I was so happy to find the ladybug yesterday is because my calendula plants have been attacked by aphids this month. Ladybugs love to eat aphids. I hope the ladybug I saw will stick around and bring friends. I tore out this plant and another heavily infested calendula to try to keep them from getting any worse. There's still plenty left for the ladybugs. 



I also started seeing baby boxelder bugs yesterday. I didn't have my camera near me, but these bugs visit in droves every year. They get worse in fall. The photo below shows a mature boxelder bug on what I believe is a borage leaf. They don't do much damage, but they can be pests. 



If you enjoyed this post, please share it. The sharing buttons are just above the comment box at the end of this post. The photo below is especially designed for pinning. 





This is my ninth post for the 2016 AtoZchallenge, a Blogging Challenge for the month of April, 2016. My theme is Things You Can See or Experience in North San Luis Obispo County. Here are links to the other posts if you missed them.

A is for Acorn
B is for Barney Schwartz Park
C is for Cattle in Wine Country
D is for Dark Star Cellars
E is for Electric Wires
F is for Family Farms
G is for Graveyard Vineyards


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