I can take a picture tomorrow if I need to but I came home after being out of town for 3 days and my plant leaves look like swiss cheese!! I examined many of them and couldn't find any potential critters. Then I noticed these bugs that look like tiny black ants. Could these be the culprits? If so, what are they and what can I do? Thanks everyone!!
bug ID please
I have them too, and i don't know what they are either, they are also causing the leaves to wilt besides having holes, especially on the Texas thistle.
The ones I have seen also have wings. Have not been able to ID.
Christi
My pentas are wilting bad too.
I had put out several packets of seeds, mostly cosmos, under my vitex. They were all up, several inches tall and doing fine and then I went out yesterday and they were all gone. I couldn't find any signs of bugs (first thought was pillbugs) but then I found the culprit. It was my husband. He "helped" me out by pulling them all up thinking they were weeds. He totally ignored the nut grass that is taking over my iris bed, but man, that vitex is saved from all those nasty cosmos seedlings. GRRRRRR!
See if you can get a pic of the little critters. I bet someone on here can identify them.
Good look.
Crow
What plant were the insects on greenie?
They are on a lot of the seedlings I had started in trays...chinese lanterns, black eyed susan vine, cardinal vine. And then there's also holes in my nasturtium and aster leaves. About half of my plants. They are not on the bougainvillea, mandavilla, cigar plant, balsam, alamanda, etc. They are mostly in the plants still close to the ground. The pentas are just withering before my eyes. No holes in the leaves but they're dying and I don't know why. I'm going to dig them up and try them in a container with different soil but I'm stumped. None of my stella d'oros came back this year either. And there are no butterflies in sight. It has been a very strange spring.
So far all I have had are those pesky white moths and their offspring are devouring my garden. Found ant mound on my potato plants today. The other is the look/like flying ant. All black. It is on everything.
could it be sawflies? http://www.pbase.com/tmurray74/sawflies
Their larva are quite destuctive http://www.pbase.com/tmurray74/sawfly_larvae
Might be for the others, Lynn. Thank you but I don't think that is my problem bug. Will try to get a picture. Looks like a black ant with black wings. Seldom closes them close to the body. Always out like the wings of an airplane. They are everywhere.
Nope, mine look like miniature black ants. The ones I have do not have wings.
I will have to take a magnifier out there, but i think mine don't have wings either.
Jo, no doubt about what I am seeing does have wings...they are flying around me and on the plants. Have seen them for about a month. Too long to be mating ants.
Lou, there are thousands of species of sawflies that all look different. There is a way to check and see if the worms that are bothering your stuff is moths or sawflies it will probably take a magnifying glass too. Moth cats will have 5 or less legs and sawfly worms will have 6 or more legs.
I don't have a clue why ants have been on a rampage. It's only been in the last week that I have seen the major predators starting to hatch. So hopefully they will be along soon for everyone else too.
Well, I do know for sure about the white moths. They are everywhere too. Just put some cayenne pepper on the cabbage and brussel sprouts plants. The cats have riddled the leaves. The cats must hide in the dirt during the day because I have examined leaf after leaf top and bottom. Also sprinkled cinnamon and dried molasses near and on the ant mounds. Don't have that large a garden and the ants have taken over 4 potato plants. Maybe more as I get into it. So much for feeding DH and I for the summer. Actually thought I was gonna have enough to share. wwwhhhhaaaaa
Could the ants be farming aphids and it's actually the aphids doing the damage. Do you see any aphids? My hibiscus always have ants when the aphids are on them. I spray them off with the garden hose.
UGH! I just took a picture and then my camera disk failed when loading them. Okay, upon closer speculation, they looked like they were next to these gray pods (the small black ants). But as I watched, I think they might be killing and carrying off the little white moths. It's worse on one plant than on the others and it's yellowing and dying. Which one of these is likely to be killing my plants. The little black ants are on my daylilies too but just the flower part and nothing seems compromised. Also today there are small hard bodied shiny blue/black bugs on my lamb's ear...tons of them. I'm being overrun! Yesterday's rain seems to have brought out all the critters. I was determined to bring out the insecticide this year since I lost so much to aphids last year that never recovered. I tried every natural deterrent I could (soap water, fish oil, etc) and nothing kept them off. I lost 3 bf gauras, all of my bfly weed and 2 bfly bushes that never came back. I don't want that to happen this year but my bf population is already so low, i don't want to compromise that either. I do NOT know what to do.
Hang in there girl, it will pass.
hopefully before i lose all my plants! I was looking at my plant markers from last year and not only did my stella d'oros and bf weed not come back but neither has my 5 agastache from last year, my sea thrift or my diascia. I'm really confused. =)
Many plants that are borderline hardy didn't make it last winter, I lost quite a few too, we had a lot of freezes and those plants couldn't take it.
Patience, patience.
Good to know, I thought it was me. Btw, it's my mountain cornflower that's getting eaten so badly. I had to peruse pictures until I found it. The garden is getting so big, I sometimes can't remember the name of everything. Although that's the only thing I had forgotten and of course I didn't have the plant marker!
My markers all washed off and I have blank labels now. GRRRRR
I suspect the ants aren't the problem, but they're eating the other bugs. Have you tried the water, alcohol and dish soap mixture? I know you said you'd tried all the natural remedies and so you probably have, but this worked miracles for me on a couple of things I tried it on. Frostweed gave the instructions when I had a huge infestation of mealy bugs, but I've used it on a couple of other pests since and had good results.
I don't know what ya'll have. My hibiscus (I don't know what kind - not the usual one, not Texas Star, I thought it was Rose Mallow but the flowerrs are pink to red) is every year badly eaten by some little green worms or catepillars. I really hate to spray, but that plant is a gonner if I don't. We sprayed it with BTH and it looks like the new growth is ok. Anybody know what these little green worms or catepillars (about 3/4" long) are?
I'll try it. My mixture didn't have alcohol in it. What's the best way to apply it because all the damage is occurring underneath the leaves, not on top.
I use a pump sprayer, the kind you pump us then use the wand to spray, then after a few minutes have to repump up the pressure. It's like the exterminator uses. I can't remember the ratio of alcohol/water that Josephine recommended but I usually just dump 1/2 regular bottle of rubbing alcohol in and fill the rest with water (3 gallon sprayer) and add one squirt of dish soap. Don't spray in the heat of day as it'll scorch the leaves. I put it on early evening. It's worked great for me. Good luck. Let us know if it works.
Lou are your hibiscus the Rose of Sharon, or Confederate Rose maybe? These are both, as is hibiscus, in the mallow family. My confederate rose is a double and is pink. It's blooming now and will bloom again later in the year. I haven't had any of the little worms you're talking about, so no help there, but I have had white flies on it. They seem to love all the mallows!
I totally forgot I had one of those. I'll spray this weekend. Thanks for the info. Hopefully I can get to it before my cornflower dies. I'm out of town right now but I'll be back on sunday.