Pest Identification

Ladybug Lifecycle

Shovelhandle said:
NO, we have millions of them. I find the grubs and pupae in soil and see the beetles eating wild grape leaves. It is indeed a ladybug. Well, a little girl bug?
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Thanks again Shovel, so interesting, nature never ceases to amaze me.

This photographer let loose some ladybugs in the garden to control aphids, and went to town taking pics. Check out the cool lifecycle images!
https://mannycasipit.smugmug.com/Nature/Ladybug-Lifecycle/
and
https://pk-photography.blogspot.com/2009/06/ladybug-pupa.html

So, when she did a headstand, it was actually a tailstand, and she was checking you out bro! Here's a tailstand pic from Manny:
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I was recently at a farm to table restaurant, walking through the gardens waiting for our table. Saw one of these on a milkweed leaf, thought "that's an interesting looking caterpillar bug thing!".
Well, thanks to this, I now see it was a ladybug Larvae I saw. And they eat aphids at that stage as well - awesome!
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Putembk, here's another couple going to town. I think they both have some mischevious looks on their mugs!
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Multi-topic thread...

Caterpillars and Ladybugs...

melon said:
pa if they are eating stuff they ain't lady bugs
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Hope there wasn't confusion, should have been more clear that my response was to Shovelhandles ID questions, not GG's OP (maybe some replies in thread are directed at that?).

Have a good day.
 
Sorry Big, have to disagree. I have seen these before and am almost positive that is a Potato Bug Larva. And they eat a lot. One way to tell for sure.....lady bugs eat other bugs leaving no plant damage....potato bugs will eat and leave evidence....plant damage=potato bug.....no damage=lady bug

another pic.....

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Ladybug Pupa Lookalikes

Putembk said:
Sorry Big, have to disagree. I have seen these before and am almost positive that is a Potato Bug Larva. And they eat a lot. One way to tell for sure.....lady bugs eat other bugs leaving no plant damage....potato bugs will eat and leave evidence....plant damage=potato bug.....no damage=lady bug

another pic.....

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Putembk - thought the same thing at first. Almost ready to suggest Bt var. San Diego for targeting the potato beetle larvae. But didn't fit when looking closer. Looking at images on this page of the Potato Beetle Larvae, there are good underside shots to compare to the underside shared by Shovelhandle (when she's standing up):
http://thelazybfarm.com/lady-bug-look-alike-sorta

Your suggestion of observing if the insect each plant matter vs. insects is a good one, as Melon suggested as well. But, it might not eat anything, nor be crapping all over the leaf, as...

...Ladybug Larvae basically don't move much. They're in metamorphosis stage, going from larvae to ladybug, it lasts maybe a week, and I don't think they eat anything during that time, plant or insect.

Finally, Shovelhandle - maybe you can go back and take a gander at the leaf, and see if the empty cocoon is there? Maybe she's emerged...

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Yup, agree. If you google both they look similar. I searched pics of potato bugs and the larva is close but you are right. Looked again and not even close....sorry mre
 
Putembk said:
Yup, agree. If you google both they look similar. I searched pics of potato bugs and the larva is close but you are right. Looked again and not even close....sorry mre
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Don't be silly, that was a tough one!
I love these challenges, always learning something new. Thanks!
 
Name this bug...

Ok islanders - here's a new one for me. Found this yesterday in the bathroom, took a pic w/ phone and magnifying glass.

The body is about 1/4" long.

Funny, the day prior had stumbled upon this species in a different phase of the lifecycle. Wasn't sure what I was seeing then.

What is it? Hint: it's not a cannabis pest, but a tree pest...
Will post back...

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Acorn Weevil, Conotrachelus posticatus

Annaba said:
I have no idea what kind it is, but it looks like some type of weevil.
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Ding ding ding, we have a winner!! Thanks for playing along Annaba and folks!

It's a Nut Weevil, genus Curculio. <edit: originally had Conotrachelus posticatus, as shown in title. That is incorrect, the Conotrachelus are more faceted on outer body>. Could be "Curculio nasicus", "Curculio nucum", or perhaps "Curculio subcatulus"

So noticed the other day some acorns looking rather brown. Split one open and brown rotten innards - DAMN I'm thinking, this plant rot issue is making me and the acorns nuts!

Quite a conjunction finding the beetle the next day. Theory on finding in the bathroom, is either it flew to the window one night (light attracts insects to that room regularly), or it pupated in the gutter from a fallen acorn and climbed up the house.

Gathered some acorns and sure enough, found some weevil larvae.
Now, waiting on the parasitic wasps and spiders to take care of this new food source... Ebb and flow of nature.

Here are a couple shots from yesterday and a grub I found an hour or so ago. Too bad we can't post videos.

Cracking open nuts - note all the poop from the larvae (it's in bottom right, a bit squished):
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Here are nuts collected from yard showing holes produced by Acorn Weevils, into which an egg is layed. The beetle then shits in the hole on top of the egg to seal it up. The nut continues to grow (/die) and falls to the ground, after which the grub emerges through the hole to carry on and pupate.
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Larva crap everywhere, but no grub. This one probably already left the acorn to pupate.
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Split this one open 1/2 hour ago. Good sized larvae there.
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There are a couple squirrel families in the yard, they're very active with the big oaks. There was a heavy nut supply last year. Going to be a tough winter this year and next if it goes too far out of balance.

Now just need a good meme for this. Maybe:
"Uh oh, damn Weevils, these nuts are full of shit, I'm going to be sick!"
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or "Ok, Acorn Weevils, this means war!"
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Aphids

Maybe not the most devastating pest, but Aphids give me the heebees now. Being primarily indoor, don't deal with them too much, but last year they got a foothold after rooting some clones from outdoor.

Spinosad worked, but wasn't quite good enough. Cleared them out with a reset.

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Last season I noticed a few green aphids on a ganja volunteer in my compost. Later that summer I saw that them in my grow room. I never had these green aphids or any issues getting rid of aphids but these were challenging to eradicate and very aggesive. The were popping out live- birth babies and really able to spread.

Untimatley, dipping full plants in safer soap or neem oil every 5 days (2-3x)eradicated them I just couldn’t reach them all with a spray wand. This also will destroy spider mites.
 
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