21. Green lacewings are named for their delicate lacy-looking
wings. They live out in the fields and around our gardens and
adults feed on flower nectar. They’re most active in the
evening.
22. Green lacewing larvae look like little alligators and
aggressively attack 70 other bugs, mostly bad things like
aphids & thrips.
23. Thrips are also called corn lice and suck the juices from
commercial crops like corn & soybeans as well as garden
crops.
24. This plain-looking
bug looks pretty dull
during the day but
really shines at night,
hence the common
name firefly
25. Fireflies or lightning bugs are actually beetles. The strange
light source is located under those wings on their abdomen.
26. Fireflies use that cool green light to attract mates; each sex
sending out communication signals to identify their species.
27. Firefly larvae are specialized predators that focus on snails &
slugs in the swampy areas they like to live.
28. Firefly larvae suck the life juices right out of captured slugs.
They glow in the dark too, all the time, & are called
glowworms.
29. Here’s a glowworm going right inside the shell to get to the
snail hidden inside.
38. Garden spiders
set out nets to
capture critters
like
grasshoppers
that are quickly
consumed.
Garden spiders
are harmless to
people even
though they
look
dangerous.
As the saying
goes, live and
let live.
39. This little crater in the sand is made by an insect called the ant
lion. Careless ants crawl in and then can’t crawl back out.
40. When a trapped ant reaches the pit’s bottom, that immature
ant lion rears its head out and eats the ant.
129. Deer ticks are tiny and
difficult to see, not much
bigger than a pinhead.
130. Deer ticks can
carry a bacteria
that causes Lyme
disease, a
debilitating
condition
characterized by
fatigue and joint
pain. One
symptom is a
bull's-eye rash
where the tick
bite took place.
131. Wearing long pants
and walking on trails
will help reduce
problems with deer
ticks and other bad
bugs.
Editor's Notes
Today’s presentation is about some of the bugs we like and some that we do not. Does anyone know what bug is in this photo? The honeybee!
Other insects play a huge role in pollinating both wildflowers and garden flowers. The good thing about honeybees is that they can be transported to huge fields of almonds in California where there are not enough natural pollinators to do the job.
They say about 1/3 of humanity’s crops rely on insect pollinators. In NE Iowa the most important crops would probably be apples and alfalfa. Most vegetable and sweet fruits need insect pollinators; grain or cereal crops do not.
Another good one is the Halloween ladybug, because that is the time of year that it tends to show up in people’s homes. Originally from Northeastern Asia, it was brought to the U.S. and used to control aphid populations in greenhouses throughout the 20th century. A wild population got established in the early 1990s and by 2000 it had become common in the Upper Midwest.
The Asian lady beetles actually make a huge difference for farmers by eating up thousands of soybean aphids.
These characteristic make lady bugs a popular choice for greenhouses and other small-scale agricultural producers to purchase as beneficial insects to keep pests like spider mites under control.
There are a few ways to tell the difference between a bug and a beetle. Beetles will always have two plates called elytra that cover up their wings when they aren’t flying. True bugs have more membranous that stay exposed.
Beetles are often omnivorous, and they have mouthparts made for chewing. True bugs use straw-like mouthparts to feed on juices; usually they go for plant sap or nectar, but some will consume animals.
They are called froghoppers because of their excellent jumping abilities—up to 2.5 feet vertically. They have relatives called leafhoppers and tree hoppers.
Garden spiders often surprise me when I am walking through weedy, neglected corners of my family’s garden.
The beetles will help transport the mushroom’s spores to new territory. Many plants use the same trick—stinky flowers encourage flies and beetles into performing pollination services.
There are a couple of ways to help avoid damage from the squash vine borer. In NE Iowa we can cover up the squash plants while they are small. That helps the plant get started and produce some fruit before the borer can kill the plants. Take of the row cover when the first flowers start to appear. Crop rotation, secondary plantings, simple traps, insecticides, and physical removal of the larva are other steps that gardeners can take to deal with this pest.
They became a pest in Colorado during the 1800s when the beetle decided to start eating potatoes rather than its normal host, the buffalo bur plant. Now they prefer potatoes, but they will also prey upon eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, and other solanums.
There are usually 2 generations per year in the northern Midwest.
The larva are awfully gross, glistening things. They are one of the few bad bugs that I don’t enjoy squishing. The older larva are responsible for most of the damage.
Management is difficult. Insecticides and crop rotation are ineffective. Using early maturing varieties, limiting the number of alternate hosts (ground cherry and nightshade), and hand plucking the beetles from the plants are the three best techniques for the home gardener.
The good news is that these beetles are not extremely common in NE Iowa. They may become so in the coming years. As with many infestations, the beetles are moving westward from the Northeastern United States.
Insecticides and pheromone traps are used to control these beetles, but the versatility and hardiness of this insect makes it difficult to control at this time.
Arrived around 2002 near Detroit. At least a dozen counties in Iowa have had sightings, including Allamakee.
Ash trees can provide some nice yellow color in the autumn. The Iowa DNR estimates that there are about 52 million ash trees in Iowa’s woodlands and about 3 million ash trees in our cities and towns.
The cambium layer of tissue just inside the bark is essential for nutrient and water transport within the tree. If the larva feed and destroy around the circumference of the tree, they girdle the tree.
See the tree on the left.
Maple trees are like ash—very common in our woodlands and very popular as street trees. Some communities could lose 1/3rd to ½ of their street trees if ash and maples are killed.
The worst part is that the Asian longhorn beetle doesn’t just prey on maples. At least 10 other tree species are eaten including birch, willow, elm, and poplars.
The good news is that ALBs aren’t prevalent in the USA yet. There are infestations in Massachusetts and Ohio right now; infestations in Chicago and NYC seem to have been eradicated.
Introduced in the 1800s, because its caterpillars seemed to have potential for silk production.
Not just oaks are under threat. Aspen, apple, basswood, birch, cottonwood, willow, and white pine are also infested. As of 2007 they were well established in Eastern Wisconsin, so it’s probably just a matter of time before they reach NE Iowa.
They start to graze on yummy warm-blooded mammals like us!
Perhaps the biggest problem with mosquitoes is there habit of transmitting diseases such as malaria, Dengue fever, and the Zika virus. The good news is that new genetic techniques are bolstering the more traditional approaches of spraying insecticides and draining standing waterways.
Horse flies are usually a bit bigger than deer flies with clear or cloudy wings unlike the dark patches or stripes on the deer flies.
I had a lot of fun finding old hornet nests when I was a kid. I don’t seem to find as many of them as I used to.
There are many types of native bumblebees; the bad news is that some have experienced dramatic declines like the honeybee. Perhaps neoniconitoid insecticides and loss of nectaring flowers are to blame.
Some species are native to the U.S. A couple have been introduced from Europe and are somewhat invasive.
Despite their pesky characteristics, some yellow jackets do predate upon other insects when there isn’t a group of picnickers to bother.
Cluster flies are a bit difficult to distinguish from house flies unless you get a close look at them. They are usually a bit larger than the house fly; they fly more slowly; and their wings overlap almost completely when they are at rest. The best way to keep both bugs out of the house is by sealing up the cracks that allow them to get inside. A good old flyswatter can take care of the rest.
The good news is that termites are rare to uncommon in Iowa. Sometimes it is a bit difficult to tell the difference between a termite and an ant. Ants will have dark bodies, bent antennae, a narrow waist, and smaller set of hind wings. In contrast, a termite will be light colored with a broad waist and wings of equal length. Ants can be seen in open areas in the evening whereas termites shy away from the light and are rarely seen.
Centipedes actually always have an odd number of leg pairs. Different species have anywhere from 30 to 354 legs. Millipedes have 2 pairs of legs per body section; centipedes have just one pair. Centipedes are carnivores and millipedes are detrivores.
We don’t have too many chiggers in this area because we don’t have the right habitat. Farther south, chiggers can be a real problem.