This week we visit the "Crawloseum" at The Gardens
of Callaway." We see some unusual bugs and learn about
IPM - Integrated Pest Management.
Stewart Whitman is the curator and will act as our guide.
This is a bug exhibit, but more correctly an Arthropod exhibit.
An Arthropod is defined as an animal with an Exoskeleton.
It's an animal with a hard crunchy shell with joined paired
appendages, such as legs or antennae and they are cold blooded
or exothermic. The Arthropod group is divided into four
subgroups. Myriapods consists of Millipedes and Centipedes
which have more than six legs. Insects is a group and they
have six legs. Arachnids, are Spiders, Scorpions and their
relatives, Ticks. The fourth subgroup is Crustaceans, Shrimp,
Lobster and Crab. Anthropoids help keep our planet clean.
Myriapods are wonderful recyclers. The Giant African Millipede
is from equatorial Africa and is larger than anything in
the U.S. It is Detridevor, it feeds on dead plant material
and leaf litter. It is similar to an Earthworm in that when
it excretes matter it re-nitrogenates the soil, improving
the soil. There are a number of differences between Millipedes
and Centipedes. Millipedes have two pair of legs on every
body segment. They are slow moving and friendly. A Centipede
is a little flatter and has one pair of legs per body segment.
It is faster moving and a predator, some species will bite.
Both are beneficial to the garden because they feed on other
Bugs in the water are bio-indicators. If there a lot of
different species in the water it is safe to assume that
the water is healthy. If there are only one or two species
and not a lot of those, it is safe to assume there is probably
some pollution problems. Sunburst Diving Beetles, when diving
will take a little bubble of air on their back as they submerge.
This allows them to stay underwater for some time, a kind
of aqua lung. Toe Biters are predator water bugs. They lay
their eggs on the males back and he cares for them until
The Orchid Mantis is from Southeast Asia, it has the exoskeleton
discussed, although in this case it is a multiexoskeleton.
As the insect grows it develops another, larger exoskeleton.
This insect blends in with the surroundings. It feeds on
other insects, similar to a green Praying Mantis. It will
sit very quietly, very still on an Orchid, when a Bee comes
by to pollinate, it will nab it. They may kill their mate
after breeding if hungry, otherwise she won't bother. The
green variety common in our country kills all sorts of insects
in the garden. The Dead Leaf Mantis looks like a dead leaf,
that is its' camouflage. A Praying Mantis egg case will
house hundreds of tiny miniature Mantises. They make them
in fall or early spring. The fall ones over winter and hatch
in the spring. It is helpful to spread them out in the yard
otherwise they will cannibalize each other.
The Madagascar Hissing Cockroach hisses as a mechanism to
defend itself. It is trying to scare off predators. the
muscles in its' body contract and forces air through the
little dark spots on its body. The hard shape on one end
is not the head but a bony plate, it acts as armor and protects
the head, which is relatively small. Cockroaches are meticulous
groomers, they constantly clean themselves. It has never
been proven that they carry disease. As housekeepers they
are lacking. They shed their skin and leave excrement. Cockroaches
are attracted to food and water. Many live outside but like
to come inside for food and water. By keeping food in containers
and not leaving crumbs they will be less inclined to be
attracted to living spaces.
If you are a Frugal gardener you may want to consider starting
annuals from seed rather than from plants. It saves money
but it takes time, oftentimes it is late summer before blooms
appear. If taking this approach, select plants that reseed
easily, for example Cosmos or Zinnias. You'll get a lot
of color at a very low price.
Beetles are a favorite of Celia. They have been around for
a long time and have evolved with flowers. They were some
of the first pollinators, without Beetles flowers wouldn't
have evolved. Their hard wing covers, Elytra, helped them
evolve. Under those hard wings are their fore wings. The
hind wings are membranous, they have veins. Some Beetles
have fused Elytra, they have lost their ability to fly because
they don't have the need. Some species are flatter, they
like to dig or go under bark or under ground, the Elytra
protects the wings keeping them in good shape. One of the
easiest ways to kill a bug is to limit water, the Elytra
helps hold in moisture, an essential ingredient for life.
Beetles have adapted to every environment in the world,
even Death Valley, the Elytra facilitates this. The Atlas
Beetle has long legs with claws because they like to climb
trees and hang on branches. They will defend themselves
however their mouth is quite small. It feeds on rotten fruit,
but they can't eat the skin of a Banana. This variety, a
male, has big horns that make it look scary. They use them
to fight other males for the right to mate with females.
Beetles can be a benefit to a garden, some can cause damage,
the Japanese Beetle is an example. The Metallic Frog Beetle
is a member of the Leaf Beetle family, Chrysamelody. Their
color resembles an oil slick when the sun shines on it.
The Metallic Frog Beetle name comes from the fact that they
have large, expanded hind legs on the males. The Yellow
Stag Beetle is another magnificent bug from Southeast Asia.
They are different because their jaws are enlarged. Their
huge jaws are in the front of their head and their eyes
are wide spread. They can cause quite a pinch but eat only
rotten fruit and mushy sap from trees because it can't chew
very well. The Vinegaroon or Whip Scorpion looks scary but
is actually fairly harmless. They are found in the Southwestern
U.S., in Mexico and Central America. The front, long, skinny
legs are feeler like appendages. They use them as a blind
person would a cane because they can't see very well. The
long whip tail has little sensory hairs. It can detect body
temperature, wind speed and all sorts of different chemical
reactions. They are called Vinegaroon because they can shoot
acidic acid or vinegar at their predators. Another Scorpion,
the Desert Hairy Scorpion, has a painful, though not deadly
or poisonous, sting. They are crabby, will sting often so
don't mess with them. All Scorpions will glow a bluish color
if you shine a black light on them.
The Mexican Blond Tarantula is a spider. Tarantulas are
fairly calm and most can be handled. The old world species
are crabbier. Spiders are beneficial in the garden. They
feed on other insects, anything from Mosquitoes to larger
insects. They feed on good as well as bad insects but keep
the insect population down in a garden. The Brown Recluse
is fairly common in the Southern states and into the Midwest.
The Black Widow and Brown Recluse have an undeserved reputation.
People may have a bad reaction to their bite but very few
people actually die from the bite. It might rot away a portion
of the skin where the bite occurs and the skin could need
to be surgically removed but generally the bite can be treated
with antibiotics and in time will heal. To avoid these spiders
avoid their normal habitats, places like old flower pots,
shoes, boots, wood piles, etc. As the name Recluse says
they would rather run from you than bite. Wear gloves when
cleaning the attic, closet, basement or garage, this will
help avoid a bite. The Black Widow, according to Celia,
is quite beautiful. An excellent anti venom has been developed
for their bite. There a several different species. The Eastern
species "Mactans" is prevalent in the southeast.
In the southwest the species is "Hesperus." They
are not aggressive and will run from you. They can be identified
by the red hour glass on their underside.
Myriapods are Crustaceans - Crawdad, Crayfish, Crabs, Lobster.
They are good recyclers, they eat plant material, little
critters, they're scavengers, they eat all sorts of things.
reminds us all insects are beneficial, they may just not
be beneficial to us.
Nicole Gamble is an Entomologist and discusses with us how
to keep bugs ar bay in our garden. IPM or Integrated Pest
Management helps us keep pests under control. The idea is
to use several different tools, including chemicals, to
keep pests under control. IPM is an attitude. You decide
how many insects you can tolerate in a given situation.
For example there may be an insect feeding on the foliage
of a vegetable plant, but not affecting the vegetables.
You need to decide whether its necessary to take action
or not. The goal is to do the minimum to keep bugs at bay.
Keep a balance of insects, good and bad. First see if you
have pests, then see what they are. An aspirator or mouth
operated bug vacuum is an important tool. Point the tool
at the bug, suck it into the aspirator (there is a screen
to keep it out of the mouth), once the insect is captured,
use a magnifying loop and determine the type of bug. This
is important, instead of killing all bugs in the garden,
by knowing the exact type bug, you then know specifically
what bug you want to eliminate. As well different bugs have
different methods of feeding. Some have mouth parts that
are like straws, they pierce into the plant and suck. A
different chemical is needed for these pests versus those
that chew all over the place or that deposit eggs into the
stem, etc. There are 5 arms of control in IPM, cultural,
physical, mechanical, biological and chemical. It is a hierarchy,
start out culturally then move down to chemical. Cultural
might include something as simple as rolling up your hose
after use instead of leaving it on the ground. By leaving
it on the ground it allows for fungus to get into the tip
of the hose, when watering the next time the fungus sprays
on your plants. With a lot of rain in parts of the country
this is an important step in controlling fungus. Remove
the first leaves that show symptoms of disease before it
has a chance to spread to other plants. These are cultural
remedies. Mechanical and physical may go hand in hand. A
trap is a mechanical control. Physical may be as simple
as picking insects off a plant. Go into the garden with
a Mason jar with soapy water and knock Japanese Beetles
into the mix. You may want to attract certain bugs because
they will control other bugs. Praying Mantis and Ladybugs
are among some of the bugs that are widely and commercially
available and that control harmful bugs. Some of these bugs,
raised commercially, will tend to take off after released.
Release them late in the day, cover the area with a net
or tarp and let them get used to the area and a large portion
should stay. Dragonflies are voracious eaters of Mosquitoes,
thus good to have around. They are attracted to water, so
if you incorporate a water feature into your yard the Dragonflies
should help with Mosquito control. Consider IPM as a pest
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