This blog will be a throw-back blog - it will contain information from (virtually) the beginning of our garden. I guess it would have started when the cucurbit plants f
irst started flourishing and the male and female flowers started arriving... We started seeing these little triangle bugs on our cantaloupe and watermelon vines (at first). Then, we started seeing them on our cucumber vines. When i started googling them, I was using the search terms, "triangle bug on vines", "bug spitting water out its behind", well, you get the picture. I kept seeing them day after day and started noticing the liquid they were expelling out of their behinds was causing whitish spots on fruit (tomatoes - at right, watermelons, etc.) and also on the tops of leaves. Come to find out, the white substance they expel is called honeydew and they are better described as wedge shaped.
irst started flourishing and the male and female flowers started arriving... We started seeing these little triangle bugs on our cantaloupe and watermelon vines (at first). Then, we started seeing them on our cucumber vines. When i started googling them, I was using the search terms, "triangle bug on vines", "bug spitting water out its behind", well, you get the picture. I kept seeing them day after day and started noticing the liquid they were expelling out of their behinds was causing whitish spots on fruit (tomatoes - at right, watermelons, etc.) and also on the tops of leaves. Come to find out, the white substance they expel is called honeydew and they are better described as wedge shaped.I decided I was going to get serious and determine what these little buggers were. After successfully killing them several times and witnessing how they move (they move to the side when you startle them, if they don't hop), I finally found out what they were: leafhoppers. Every time we went in the garden, we were killing them left and right. I was afraid they were stealing nutrients from our developing water
melon and cantaloupe (they seem to prefer these two plants the most). And I kept wondering and researching how one could get rid of these pesky things (they are "bad bugs", they bring disease and can adversely affect the plants). I think I read somewhere parasitic wasps parasitize them and maybe something about beneficial nematodes doing something to control young populations. In recent days, I have noticed a decline in the number of leafhoppers and have attributed it to the fact that we have a whole bunch of wasps (beneficial and cicada wasp killing wasps) in our courtyard out back. I was convinced they were doing their part to control the leafhopper population. And, perhaps they were/are. But, today, as I lifted some cantaloupe to place them in a sling, I was enamored as I saw what appeared to be the beginning stages of an assassin bug taking hold of a leafhopper. I had my phone out there so I hurried to grab a photo and then ran inside (okay, hobbled inside) to get my EOS. You can see the sling placed around the cantaloupes in the photo - I tried so hard not to disturb the assassin bug as he enjoyed his feast.
melon and cantaloupe (they seem to prefer these two plants the most). And I kept wondering and researching how one could get rid of these pesky things (they are "bad bugs", they bring disease and can adversely affect the plants). I think I read somewhere parasitic wasps parasitize them and maybe something about beneficial nematodes doing something to control young populations. In recent days, I have noticed a decline in the number of leafhoppers and have attributed it to the fact that we have a whole bunch of wasps (beneficial and cicada wasp killing wasps) in our courtyard out back. I was convinced they were doing their part to control the leafhopper population. And, perhaps they were/are. But, today, as I lifted some cantaloupe to place them in a sling, I was enamored as I saw what appeared to be the beginning stages of an assassin bug taking hold of a leafhopper. I had my phone out there so I hurried to grab a photo and then ran inside (okay, hobbled inside) to get my EOS. You can see the sling placed around the cantaloupes in the photo - I tried so hard not to disturb the assassin bug as he enjoyed his feast.
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