Please Help Me Identify This Bug
These little buggers are all over my giant parsley plant and my cucumbers. They seem to be staying to the stems. I have no idea if they are pest or predator and can’t find any other photos of them online.
Believe me, I searched every bug index I could find.
The little cottony fluffs sticking off their bottoms made me think they might be scale of some sort, but the body looks too round and I’m not seeing any big, white buildups. They look like armadillos in drag.
Technorati Tags: garden pests, predators, bugs, insects, identify
"All through the long winter, I dream of my garden. On the first day of spring, I dig my fingers deep into the soft earth. I can feel its energy, and my spirits soar."
~Helen Hayes
July 19th, 2007 at 7:24 am
You could cut of the stem with the bug on it and take it to the OSU Extension Service for ID. I couldn’t find it in my stuff, although I found lits of interesting bugs.
July 19th, 2007 at 3:44 pm
They look like what I call wooly aphids but their color is different from the variety I see around here. I’ve never been concerned about the ones that show up in the garden because the veggies aren’t their real targets. Maybe at least that will help you narrow down the search.
July 19th, 2007 at 7:46 pm
Kelly, could the little cottony fluff be mealybugs? Check out this site:
http://www.naturescontrol.com/mealybug.html
Your bugs could be “mealybug destroyers” if only they were darker…
July 19th, 2007 at 9:01 pm
Hard to tell, but it looks like scales. Compare these to your guys:
http://manatee.ifas.ufl.edu/MasterGardeners/MGarticles/JMbugsareback.htm
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/notes/O&T/shrubs/note13/note13.html
March 9th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
Kelly, sorry I don’t know anything about that bug except that I have seen them in my place here in Lexington, KY. If I find out, I will come back and comment again.
While I’m here, I do enjoy your posts about critters so much. I always wanted to do the moveable chicken thing but never lived where I could. I enjoy reading about yours and all your adventures.
I used to subscribe to Organic Gardening Magazine (saved years and years of them) and I read about growing worms beneath the rabbit coop, about chickens, and all sorts of wonderful ideas.
Since I can’t do those things, I will content myself with reading about your “fun”!
If you still have that photo of the bug you might be able to send it to the bug man and he might identify it for you.
http://www.whatsthatbug.com/beetles.html