The Good, the Bad, and the FREAKY

So many of you know that I am just crazy enough to add a good size garden to my 'to do' list in the spring and summer.  Well, it has been one tough summer...basically no rain in forever!  Anyway, some of you also may know that we seem to have every pest in the world right in our back yard.  And I don't mean just one or two...but TONS of critters.  I may be a biologist, but when it comes to getting bitten, stung, or having critters in the house...I draw the line.

So just to give you an idea of what we have to deal with...we do have some good ones...you know things like lady bugs, honey bees, preying mantis, butterflies...and I am sure there are a few others.  But we have some bad ones as well...more plentiful than the good...squash bugs, Colorado potato bugs, cucumber beetles, vine borers, stink bugs, leaf hoppers, grass hoppers, corn pests...oh my the list just goes on and on.  So I won't bore you except to say that we probably lose as much (if not more) that what we actually eat because of those pests!

We have also seen some really freaky critters both insects and spiders.  And the occasional snake.  Anyway...since the majority of what I see in the garden are considered pests and they tend to make me crazy...I do a lot of smashing, squashing, stomping...you get my point.  So the other day I started to squash one...but decided first that it was really large, and second that it was quite creepy looking.  So I took a picture, stopped pulling weeds, and went straight for my insect book.  Here is the image:

Well...you can't see exactly how big he is...but he would not fit on a quarter.  So a bit too big to squash between my fingers.  He also had quite a large fang...check this out:

So what is this guy?  He is known as the Assassin of the insect world.  So of course he halls in with the assassin bugs which I have seen before and know that they sting.  This one is actually called a wheel bug...notice the wheel like structure on its back...

And here he is as a baby...or nymph if you want to be scientific:

CREEPY!  But pretty cool looking.  So did I go back and squish it?  Well...that is where it all comes to what can I put up with.  Several things that I don't like about the bug...they are hard to find, freaky looking, larger than I like to see near my hands, and their sting...or rather puncture wound...is said to be 10 times worse than a hornet and can take several weeks to heal.  Well that is something to look forward to right?

However...check this out:

Here he is eating a yellow jacket...that is good right?

And here is a young wheel bug eating a Colorado potato beetle larva...Good thing!

And probably my most FAVORITE...hence the decision not to kill the critter and would not mind having a few more...

Yes...he is actually eating a SQUASH BUG...one of my worst enemies.  I didn't think anything ate or killed those critters...so this guy is welcome in my garden.  However...I would like to maintain the population to a few...I don't need anything else 'stinging' around.

Next post...maybe I will tell you about a few other critters I have to deal with...all for the good of the garden right?  Worth it?  Sometimes.

So I guess I will just keep looking for the good, the bad, and always the freaky!