Insects Archives – Strength Of The Small

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A New Season

By JM PerezOctober 7, 20222 min read650 views

“Gratitude for the turning of the seasons. May we attune our hearts to their enduring message of renewal.” — Kristin Granger

It’s a new month and a new season, renewing and refreshing …

The weather has been bearable; however, between work and the kids, I haven’t had enough time to enjoy gardening. A couple of days ago, I dug out all of the Russian Sage in the front yard and disposed of them. I loved the plants, but they were spreading too fast and looking more like trees than shrubs. I have been wondering if it had something to do with the fact that they were in partial shade? Perhaps growing tall was the result of reaching out for more sunlight? The Russian Sage I planted in the backyard in full sun around the same time are growing at a normal rate.

Trees are starting to shed their leaves; the rose bushes and Texas Sage shrubs are full of blooms.

Last week I spotted a strange looking insect, similar to the Desert Camel at a first glance, but looking like a cricket.

The Jerusalem Cricket (Stenopelmatus Fuscus), also known as Potato Bug, Child of the Earth, Skull Cricket, Stone Cricket, and Sand Cricket is a large slow moving, six-legged flightless insect with a large orangish head, tiny eyes, and antennae spreading apart. It has humpback abdomen usually with black and yellow stripes. The insect is native to the western United States and Mexico, as well as semi-arid and dry climates. The insect feeds on smaller insects, decaying plants, and vegetation. They communicate through vibrations by producing a hissing noise due to the absence of ears.

It is said that the insect is not poisonous but can bite when provoked, resulting in moderate, short-lived pain (sores and skin rash). Their sharp and strong jaws can cut through fabrics and thin plastic. They are most active at night and during the day they burrows beneath rocks, logs, or in sand. According to ocvector.org, in order to find a mate, adults strike their abdomen on the ground (this behavior is called drumming). The vibrations travel through soil and are used to locate each other.
Click here for more information.

Happy New Month and Happy Gardening!

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By JM Perez

Snakeflies Insects Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Spring in The Garden

By JM PerezApril 2, 20223 min read745 views

As the weather warms up, plants and critters come alive.
April is such a beautiful month. The weather is just right to spend time outside, tending to my garden. The roses are in full bloom on the arches by the side gate, the patio and the gazebo.

The Red Tip Photinia recently put out beautiful, tiny white clusters of flowers. These flowers however, have an unpleasant smell.

Madame Galen Trumpet Vine is leafing out. Early last Spring, I almost got rid of the plant thinking it had died, since its branches were still bare while other plants had leaves and flowers.

*Madame Galen Trumpet Vine leafing out.*

My Lilac bloomed for the first time. I planted a few two years ago from seedlings and they are thriving.

The rose trees are starting to bloom again …

The Creeping Myrtle are fast growing and spreading …
In the front yard I used them as ground cover and in the backyard I used them as climbers.

The Silvery Cassia shrubs are covered in masses of bright yellow flowers.

About ten years ago, we planted Japanese Boxwood in two different locations in the backyard. We haven’t lost a single one to date; however, those planted in partially shaded areas have tripled in a size and look greener, while those planted in sunny areas are much smaller and are brighter. A few weeks ago, I realized that the plants are self-seeding under favorable conditions. I found three or four young seedlings next to the mother plant. I will relocate them once they reach a certain height and it’s safe to do so.

For the last couple of weeks, I have been seeing a strange new insect flying around and didn’t pay much attention. Though I didn’t take a good look at the insect, I remember that I couldn’t get the image off my mind. I knew it wasn’t a mosquito, since it had a long neck and strange looking head. Last week, I saw one resting on the wall and immediately took a picture of it. This insect turns out to be a Snakefly.

According to Wikipedia, Snakeflies are a group of predatory insects, consisting of roughly 260 species. These predatory insects are found in temperate regions worldwide but are absent from the tropics and the southern hemisphere. It is said that their long neck aid in keeping their head above the body. Snakeflies are beneficial insects and appear in Spring and feed on the larvae and pupae of insects as well as other small insects. Their life cycle includes egg, larvae, pupae, and adult. The female has a large and strong ovipositor for laying eggs. The larvae live beneath trees and plants roots, under loose tree bark and hunt for other small insects or their larvae. It may take them a couple of years to complete their development.

Gophers and ground Squirrels are very active. After loosing a few Gopher plants, my husband set up traps around the area and caught a gopher. The squirrels on the other hand are becoming very sneaky. They dig holes on our property boundary to get to the neighbor’s chicken coop; we have set up a few traps and are keeping our fingers crossed.

Happy gardening!

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By JM Perez

Praying Mantis Insects Nature Gardening

Praying Mantis Egg Case Hatching

By JM PerezMay 19, 20211 min read1.8K views

Last October I wrote about the The Fascinating Life of Mantises and shared a video of a praying mantis laying eggs. We decided, early in the Spring, to get one ootheca (egg case) and observe it indoor until it hatches.

For this observation we used a jar, a dryer sheet and rubber band (to secure the opening of the jar), and a small branch from the Pomegranate tree. We placed a branch in the jar and gently stuck the egg case on one of the thorns of the branch so that it would be suspended and also, for the praying mantis nymphs to perch on once they emerge. The dryer sheet was a used one, very soft and breathable, allowing air to flow into, out of, and within the jar.

We had the egg case in a jar for about five weeks and watched with delight as nymphs emerged from the egg case last week.

And no, young mantises do not eat one another as soon as they hatch. Not releasing them soon enough, however, will cause them themselves to become prey. We gently released them on the leaves of a rose bush, to start feeding on aphids and hide from predators.

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By JM Perez

Praying Mantis Insects Nature Gardening

The Fascinating Life of Mantises

By JM PerezOctober 30, 20202 min read1K views

Growing up, I always thought of Praying Mantis as fascinating creatures. From their praying appearance to their amazing body shapes, colors and the ability to camouflage with their surroundings.

A few days ago, I saw this Praying Mantis hanging onto a grate of chicken wire, while overlooking an ootheca (its egg case). In the past I spotted numerous oothecae around the garden, thinking they were some type of chrysalis. Now I now the case holds Mantis eggs.

Last week, my daughter spotted a green Praying Mantis on a fence panel and noticed something attached to its derriere. Upon closer inspection, we realized it was a female mantis laying eggs and we were fascinated by the way it crafted its egg’s case (see the video below).

Praying Mantis Laying Eggs (Video)

The female mantis produces between 100 to 400 eggs in a frothy liquid case to protect them from microorganisms, parasitoids, predators and harsh weather. In the Spring, nymphs/young mantises emerge from the egg case and begin eating voraciously to grow fast into adulthood. Many of them do not survive as they tend to eat each other to survive or are eaten by predators.

The adult mantis continues to eat and grow; and during this time it will shed its outer skin, a process known as molting. Between late Summer and Fall, the adult female will attract a male mate and after mating, a new life cycle will begin. Similarly to grasshoppers, it is said that Praying Mantis die shortly after laying eggs.
For additional information, follow this link.

Why do female mantises eat the males after mating?
The males self-sacrifice themselves for their offsprings. Males have been found to have nutrients such as proteins and lipids and by cannibalizing the males, the females may produce eggs of greater energy density. The bodies of the ill-fated males are used to aid their production.
Sources: Wikipedia.org and TheGuardian.com

Praying Mantises are beneficial garden insects, they will keep your plants disease free.

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By JM Perez

Insects Weather Nature High Desert

Goodbye Summer

By JM PerezSeptember 22, 20202 min read796 views

And just like that, Summer is over. Hello Fall …
I have been looking forward to welcoming Fall with its cooler weather and much needed rain. California is on fire, the air quality has been bad for a few weeks now with ashes falling from the sky and settling everywhere. We need relief and God knows those brave men and women fighting out there need some extra help. My heart and prayers go out to those who have lost everything in these wildfires.

The sun and moon remained orange for a few days due to smoke from the wildfires burning in the surrounding areas.

Life has been very interesting with a hyperactive 2 year old in the house. Keeping this little one entertained while maintaining my sanity is challenging and a new rewarding experience. I am learning to be still and patient. My older kids on the other hand are doing really well with Distance Learning and I am so proud of them; especially my teen, who is excelling in all his advance classes.

I didn’t get to enjoy my garden and tend to my plants as much as I wanted lately. Between a hyperactive kid, a scorching hot weather and the poor air quality from the fires; my hands were tied. The Irrigation Timer stopped working due to a damaged valve and all the plants didn’t get water for a couple of days, leading to some plants eventually dying. We got that taken care for and everything is back to normal. The air is still quite unhealthy, but we are able to enjoy outdoor time during most evenings.

Insects and animals alike are preparing for Winter.
Some neighboring squirrels have been storing food all around our property, which of course, have been located and removed. One persistent squirrel is attempting to find shelter in our backyard, underneath the platform next to the storage shed. It has damaged the climbing Jasmine and chewed up drip lines to access the location. We’ve set up traps and hoping to catch it very soon.

It’s also time for grasshoppers to mate and lay their eggs into the ground. These eggs will remain dormant underground through the winter and young grasshoppers will hatch in Spring.

For a while I couldn’t figure what exactly were these small flat discs on branches. They turned out to be Katydid eggs, which are deposited on either branches or leaves to Winter over and hatch in Spring. Katydid are group of insects related to grasshoppers and crickets.