I dosed them with Hot Pepper/Garlic spray...
What are These??
Hi Melva, I think they're leaf footed bug nymphs. It's hard to tell assassin (good guys) from leaf footed bugs (bad guys) while in the nymph stage. But leaf footed bugs will congregate while assassins are usually loners. I don't know how to control them, tho, sorry. Some sure will have some ideas on control.
My first thought was milkweed assassin. They'll do a tiny bit of damage to plants but mainly kill bad bugs.
I mistakenly posted this pic as the leaf footed bug nymph. It is actually the nymph of the red shouldered bug. Thanks to claypa, I was finally able to find out what was "bugging" my garden. Here is a link: http://www.coopext.colostate.edu/4dmg/Pests/red.htm
The nymph has a red body and black legs, like the original picture. Maybe...
This message was edited Jun 23, 2008 7:15 AM
I sent Baldo, the Bug Guy..the picture and he says he thinks they are Leaffooted Bugs and that I should squish them...I hate to squish bugs! (aphids don't count)
Look at this picture of a Leaffooted Nymph...think that is it....
http://insects.tamu.edu/images/insects/hemiptera/leptoglossus_nymph_04.jpg
I know the adults are said to have a nasty bite..the nymphs too? I have been dousing them with Hot Pepper/Garlic spray....I think I have some DE somewhere, guess I will try some of that.
I do not blame you..I am the same way.
Baldo says we also have a "Wheel Bug" I saw one a couple of years ago..didn't know what it was,,,but I told Phil, "that looks like it could really bite you" from reading about it..turns out, I was right...
http://www.hiltonpond.org/ThisWeek030901.html
Yep, those are the good guys (tho, I still don't want them on me) Both have really pretty opalescent eggs, usually laid underneath leaves. When I find the eggs, I keep watch over them and once they hatch you can usually tell within a week or so which are good and which are bad by how far apart they want to get from each other. The good guys are predators and I think they start to eat each other if they don't find their own space to hunt. The bad guys usually stick around together and feed off the plant they hatched on.
If you encourage and help the good guys thrive, the less you have too worry about the bad guys.
Also, if you find large congregation of bugs like that you might try tying a plastic bag around them and the branch they're on and dispose of both. I throw infested branches/ fruit to the chickens, but I don't know why just throwing them away wouldn't work.
Just either dunk the entire leaf or thump them into a bucket/bowl of water with a little bit of soap or insecticidal soap. That gets them all at one time without actually squishing. You just have to grab the plant low enough not to disturb them and give yourself enough stalk to bend a little bit. If I find them on a leaf I just snip the leaf off into the water.
They are on a squash plant and any time I do anything to a branch, it tends to break...the plastic bag around where the bugs are, sounds like a plan...
I see...but cocoa says to dispose of the branch, like my cutting off the leaf. Are you going to spray them with something then put the bag on them, or just try to suffocate them? That might work. lol
I think I am going to try to put the bag on, without the warning of the spray...
OK, guys, don't laugh. These guys were on my tomato plants in record numbers and I put some in ziplock bags so I could put different things on them to try and kill them and nothing seemed to work. Even drowning them wasn't entirely successful. What I did learn was that I took my dustbuster out early in the morning when they were less active and I could suck them up and dispose of them in a sealed bag or flush them. My DH gave me such a hard time about vacuuming my tomato plants but it worked!
Annie
HA! That's a great idea!! I know that people up north have to vacuum up the ladybugs, so why not! My son had this little "bug vacuum" but it didn't have any power to it, but I think that's the idea. Great tip!! Can't you just hear the neighbors talking!!
I have some of the assassin bugs that look like those. I hate them and kill them when ever I can. I will let the lady bugs take care of my aphids. The assassin bugs kills my caterpillars that I protect!
http://davesgarden.com/guides/bf/showimage/6433/
This article also mentioned a disease they can pass to humans.
This message was edited Jun 22, 2008 10:59 PM
You know, I've had those on my tomatoes this year too. Never had them before. But I don't think they are assassin bugs. There are a few adults around, and they aren't orange like the adult assassins are.
I tried to ID them once from pictures, and gave up. It's too hard to tell the difference between the assassin nymphs and the leaf-footed bug nymphs. But whatever they are, they are yucky.
You bet they are!
I had a bunch of these leaf-footed nymphs on my squash too - I sprayed Neem Oil on them and the bugs died. But then the squash plant died shortly thereafter due to squash vine borers. Ack!
I lost mine last year to squash vine borers. And, they were growing in pots, on top of that. :( I don't know what to do for those guys.
I made the mistake of spraying the Neem Oil on when it was too hot and burned the leaves on several of my plants. With the heat we are having, that leaves very little time to actually put it on.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/857407/
Short discussion on what to do for borers. They CAN be taken care of!
Thanks, Brigid!
I had the same bugs on one of my plants and didn't know if it was a "good" bug or not. I emailed a friend but couldn't wait for an answer. I tried to look it up on several sites on the pc but never got the same bug---- so I mixed up a small batch of insecticidal soap , added a bit of alcohol
and sprayed they. They fell off the plant immediately, kicked a bit and died!!! I haven't seen them on any other plants. I felt a little bit of a twinge ,,, but,,, got over it. hahaha !!!!
jana