Small Visitors to my Garden in Early May

Visiting Insects in May

Although we schedule our visits on a calendar, it's not so neat in the insect world. They appear by season rather than by date. So although I can say that these insects were all garden visitors during the first two weeks of May, some had been hanging around since April, and some, like the bees,  visit me during the entire year. Let's look at them. My most welcome guests this month have been the ladybugs, who flew in to clean up my aphid problem.

Ladybugs Busy Mating and Eating Aphids, © B. Radisavljevic

They have been a great help to me. In the photo above you can see the one on top eating one of the aphids. The two on the bottom of the flower are mating. You can see how the unwelcome aphids are sucking the life out of the calendula plants. In the middle of April I had four heavily infested calendula flowers and one infested wormwood plant. It took the ladybug air force a month to finish the job, but as of yesterday there are no more aphids and most of the ladybugs have moved on. Below is another calendula plant they cleaned up. Do you see all the ladybugs visible on just this one plant? I counted nine.  How many can you count?

Ladybird Aphid Eating Crew on Calendula Plant, © B. Radisavljevic

There are still a few ladybugs lurking in the rosemary and on other plants. I found the one below in the crotch of this clary sage plant. I'm hoping it's not about to be a meal for the spider that lives there. We will see it later.

Ladybird Hiding on Clary Sage Plant, © B. Radisavljevic

 

Another insect currently in my garden is the spittlebug. Spittlebugs are small insects who cover their motionless nymphs, who hang out on the foliage of perennials, shrubs, annuals, and herbs, with this unsightly foam as they suck juices from the stems. According to Sunset, they do little damage and leave after about three weeks. If they really bother you, you can wash the foam off with a hose. They do make the plant look a bit ugly. Here they are "decorating" my rosemary.

Spittlebugs on Rosemary, © B. Radisavljevic

The last insect, the one who visits almost every day, is the hard-working bee. Below you see it on fruity teucrium, a ground cover, which is blooming now. The bees love it. I couldn't fit them all into this one photo, and they kept flitting off to new blossoms while I was focusing.

Bees on Fruity Teucrium, © B. Radisavljevic

Before we leave the insects, here's one more photo of a bee. This one is working on a lamb's ears flower. The lamb's ears started to bloom just a few days ago. This photo is just the right size to pin if you'd like to share it.

Busy Bee on Lamb's Ears, © B. Radisavljevic

The Inconspicuous Crab Spider in Early May

This spider has visited many of my plants. I have seen her (and what I assume is her mate) on the calendula plants with the ladybugs and aphids, on the juniper bushes, and on the rosemary.  It is very hard to see on this rosemary plant, even when I blow it up. It's not a large spider to start with, and it can take on the coloring of the plant it's on to blend in. Can you see it in the lower right corner below? I had to get into a very awkward position to get this photo at all.

Inconspicuous Crab Spider in Rosemary, © B. Radisavljevic

One of these spiders seems to be living on my clary sage. It's much easier to see and photograph there. It usually scrunches up like this while waiting for prey to appear. I do have a video of two of these spiders interacting on a calendula plant, and once they start moving, they are fast. I think one may have been chasing the other. The one below is a female. The male is smaller. I saw a male on this plant a couple of days earlier. I don't see it now. I wonder if the female had him for dinner. To see how this spider mates, check the last photo on this blog post.

Inconspicuous Crab Spider on Clary Sage Leaf, © B. Radisavljevic

 Spiders & Other Arachnids
I love being able to understand which insects and spiders are visiting me. Here are some books which have been a great help in identifying and understanding them. The two books on the bottom right will appeal to children and are small enough to carry into the backyard for field use. The books on the bottom left have a format designed for teens and adults. All are illustrated and will help you identify garden visitors with six or eight legs. The short video at left above shows you some common spiders in action up close. Prime members can watch it for free. Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial

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 A Field Guide to Insects: America North of Mexico National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders (National Audubon Society Field Guides (Paperback)) Fandex Family Field Guides: Bugs Peterson First Guide to Insects of North America

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Related articles

• Insects in My Neighborhood in April
• Plant Pests and their Predators: Aphids and Ladybugs
• Nature notes: bees born with good vibrations
• Ladybugs Macro Photography by Tomasz Skoczen
• Top 10 Bizarre Insect Predators
• Sages Add Color and Attract Beneficial Insects to Your Garden
• Happy Bees Enjoying March Flowers
• I Saw My First Butterfly This Year Today
• In photos: Busy summertime bees - part 1

Ladybugs Mating - Caught in the Act

Record Number of Ladybugs on One Plant Today

This morning I went to do my almost daily ladybug count on my aphid infested calendula plants and I counted sixteen on this one plant. So far they seem to have devoured the aphids on the other calendula plants so they are partying on this one today. As I took a closer look, I saw these two mating. It was windy and I didn't think the macro shot would come out clear, but it did. So here they are.

Ladybugs Mating, © B. Radisavljevic

As far as I can tell from such a limited view, this mating ladybug couple appear to be convergent ladybugs. It appears that although I can't count the spots because of its position upside down, the ladybug hanging over them is a seven-spotted ladybug. I'm using the head for identifying it. They have "headlights."

I did get a video of this, but I haven't had time to edit it yet. I have so many ladybug videos from this past month I just may do a documentary. Stay tuned. I'm just glad they have all gathered on my calendula plant for an aphid feast.

 Original Ladybug Land with Voucher
Whether you are a child or adult, you will learn a lot about ladybugs (ladybird beetles) from these books and educational toys.


 I love any book by Gail Gibbons. She makes everything so clear in her bold illustrations.  Not only preschoolers, but anyone, including me, may learn something new. Good Garden Bugs is for adult gardeners. Kids will learn a lot from the other two items, which are just a sample of all that's available when you click through.

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 Ladybugs Ladybug Life Cycle Felt Board Figures By Playtime Felts Good Garden Bugs: Everything You Need to Know about Beneficial Predatory Insects

See my other post on ladybugs and aphids in the related links below.

If you want to share this post, there are sharing buttons below just above the comment box. This last photo is designed to meet Pinterest specifications. How many ladybugs can you find and identify in this photo?

I see six. Most are seven-spotted.

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Related articles

• Plant Pests and their Predators: Aphids and Ladybugs
• Insects in My Neighborhood in April
• Vetch Runs Wild

Plant Pests and their Predators: Aphids and Ladybugs

Most Plant Pests Have Natural Predators

Plant insect pests begin to appear in our gardens as the weather warms up. I'm an organic gardener who doesn't use pesticides, so I looked to nature to help me keep aphids under control when I spotted them on my calendula flowers last week. The infestation was severe. I knew nature's cure was the hungry ladybug. Ladybugs are one of the aphid's major predators to help get rid of these plant pests. 

That's why I was so happy to discover one on this infested plant. After I took the picture, I saw there were actually two of them. I did a little happy dance. Can you see them both? I told them to go invite their friends to the aphid feast. I apologize for the the bit of blur in these photos. It was windy and very hard to shoot from a squatting position.

The Pests: Aphids

I first noticed my aphid infestation on April 11. I've never had an aphid problem here before. So when I went out to pick a calendula flower to put in my salad, I wasn't happy to see most of my plants covered with aphids like this.

On that day I did not see any ladybugs. I began to pray they would arrive. In droves! Knowing, though, that it might take a few days before they discovered my aphid feast, I pulled out some of the most heavily infested plants and threw them away. Then I waited and watched.

The Predators: Ladybugs

Finally my watching was rewarded with a sighting. I might mention that ladybugs can be hard to see. Do you see the one in the photo below, hiding under that yellow calendula on the left side? You can also see the aphids. One adult ladybug can eat up to 50 or 60 aphids a day. The larvae are said to eat them even more voraciously.

Although I was able to use this diagram to identify my ladybugs, it took repeated trips to the garden to get it right. It's hard to count spots when they are moving, and the ladybugs seem to keep their heads down most of the time when they are eating. I didn't want to frighten them away during dinner, so I had to be very gentle when turning the leaves for a better look. I have finally concluded that they are seven-spotted ladybugs (or, technically ladybird beetles), scientifically named Coccinella septempunctata. 

Below is a photo of the seven-spotted ladybug larva on a catmint plant next to the infested calendula.

Below is the adult seven-spotted ladybug or Coccinella septempunctata.

I went back to the garden to try to better identify the ladybug I had captured earlier with my camera (below) and couldn't find it. But I did another happy dance when I saw at least four seven-spotted ladybugs in these same flowers. I thought maybe I had misidentified this one below, but I see now that its head shows more clearly in the photo than I had thought. It is a convergent ladybug (Hippodamia convergens). 

Now that the ladybug air force is landing, I believe my aphid problem will be gone soon. Already the stems and flowers of the plants that ladybugs and their larvae have settled on are looking cleaner than they did before the ladybugs landed on them. The ladybugs seem quite happy, since they haven't left the plants since I started photographing and trying to identify them this morning. Every time I go out to  count spots or take another photo, they are in almost the same place. I hope they lay eggs and hang around.

Organic Aphid Control 

If you have an aphid problem and no ladybugs, you can buy live ones at Amazon.  Green lacewings eat even more aphids than  ladybugs do, and you can also buy those if you need them. Amazon sells the eggs, the larvae, and packages of combined live ladybug and lacewing eggs. 

 Predalure
You can also buy lures like this one that attract beneficial insects like ladybugs and lacewings. Once the insects you want are lured in, they are tempted to stay a while instead of just flying away, as live ladybugs often do.

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If you want to work harder at it, you can spray aphids off your plants with a forceful stream of water. I don't think that's as permanent a solution as getting them eaten by beneficial insects who like to dine on them. "Honeydew' and black sooty mold, byproducts of aphid infestations, can be gently washed from plants with a mild soapy water rinse. Since most of my plants are edible or next to something edible, I wouldn't even consider a pesticide that has toxic substances in it.

To discourage aphids from taking over your garden, keep ants from nesting in your garden or get rid of any you find there. Using a reflective aluminum mulch in early spring may also discourage flying adult aphids from laying eggs.

As for me, I prefer to let the ladybugs do the work.

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

This is my sixteenth post for the 2016 AtoZchallenge, a Blogging Challenge for the month of April, 2016. My theme is plants, since this is a gardening blog. Here are links to the other posts if you missed them.

A is for Apple Blossoms
B is for Bottlebrush
C is for Carnations
D is for Daisy
E is for Elderberry
F is for Flowers
G is for Gazania
Hollyhocks are Edible
Irises Are Garden Survivors
Jupiter's Beard: A Mystery Finally Solved
Kale for Lunch
Lion's Tail - A Perennial Summer Burst of Orange
Miner's Lettuce is Tasty and Free"Naked Ladies" Bloom in August

Oleander through the Year

How My Garden Has Progressed in Two Years Since 2012

First Ladybug I've Seen This Year on Catmint Plant

I'm back in the garden now.This morning was typical because it held a surprise for me -- this first ladybug I've seen this year. Something new is always happening in my garden, but I only know if I keep my eyes open for it.  I keep my camera handy to record anything I want to remember.

2012 and early 2013 were not good gardening years for me. I was caught up in freelance writing on Squidoo and HubPages, and I was also building up my Zazzle stores. I simply did not have time to do much gardening. I had inherited a house from my mother in Paso Robles, California in 2006 and in 2013 I decided I had to do something with the front yard there. My mother had done nothing with it in the almost ten years she lived there, and there were a few green shrubs and not much else.

The city of Paso Robles was getting stricter about water rationing in landscaping, so I knew if I were going to makeover the garden, I'd better use drought resistant plants.  I began my project just about this time in 2013. By then I had started writing for Bubblews, so I started a Garden Journal there. Every time I did something new to my garden or when changes such as a plant starting to bloom for the first time occurred,  I reported it, with photos, in a Garden Journal post. Unfortunately Bubblews removed almost all the photos from our posts in a big update to the site, and last year Bubblews quit. Except for my written back-ups and saved photos in a different place, all those visual journal posts are gone. From now on, I'll be keeping my gardening journal here again.


Is that garden now a showpiece? Definitely not. It will always be a work in progress and there will always be surprises. I write about it because I know there are many hobby gardeners like me who like to get ideas from ordinary gardeners like themselves and see what works and what doesn't in other gardens. I have learned new techniques and gotten many hints from those who have commented on my gardening posts at Bubblews. But now I want to bring some of those gardening posts back here to Blogger.

I have two garden areas -- one in Templeton, California, and one in Paso Robles. Both are very close to being in Sunset's Zone 16 (USDA Zone 9). We have hot dry summers, and sometimes have temperatures in the triple digits in May or October.  Our winters normally have lows ranging from 25 degrees down to 17 degrees F but a couple of the last twenty winters had temperatures down to 12 degrees F. This was cold enough to kill almost everything above ground on my gazanias. Fortunately, they regrew when temperatures warmed up again. Our summers are hot and dry in the daytime, but usually cool down when the sun sets.

Grapes and oak trees flourish here, so the Paso Robles and Templeton Gap areas are home to many vineyards. Olive trees also do well. Drought resistant public plantings include a lot of lavender, yarrow, artemisia, sages, rosemary. and santolina. I have grown all of these, and once established, they need little care. I find I can learn a lot about what to plant by seeing what the businesses use in their drought-resistant landscapes.

Flowers that work well for me year after year include irises, calendula, and daffodils. These are also plants that gophers tend to stay away from. Herbs also work well in my gardens and add summer color. The photo above shows the first ladybug I've seen all year nestled in my catmint, which grows in a pot in my flower bed closest to the house. It will be blooming soon. I also grow oregano, thyme, basil, cilantro, catmint, spearmint, sages, clary sage, mullein, monarda, borage,  hyssop, wormwood, rue, tansy, parsley.

So far my pansies I planted in winter and the petunias I planted last year are still blooming. That surprised me, since they usually don't last so long. My hyssop started to bloom about a week ago. So did my Chomley Farren carnations. They are a deep pink with lavender markings. I will try to show you the photos in future posts.

Spanish sage in bloom April 25, 2014, next to yellow pansies. Lamb's ear is in front of pansies. Godetia is just starting to bloom in foreground. Back right is rue next to a volunteer gopher plant. Behind all is jasmine.

My Spanish lavender blooms are dying down now after blooming last month. My Spanish sage is still going, though my jasmine, which is starting to spread and bloom is trying to bury it. I need to give that jasmine a haircut. My wild watermelon sage is still blooming red in my side bed, and my Fruity Teucrium, a germander, is producing purple flowers that look good in the middle of my spreading tansy. My small Windy City Rose is also in bloom, as is the light blue scabiosa I planted last year. I will show individual photos of these in future posts.  They are growing in other flower beds.

What is your favorite drought-resistant plant?