hazeleyes said:Anyone know what this is?
http://garden.org/thread/view_...

It seems as if it is the ground spider - Sergiolus capulatus (female). Here is a link with more photos:

http://bugguide.net/node/view/...

I hope this helps (she really is quite memorable )

I love Google!
I simply did a search with "insects in Missouri" and the second link I thought I got it: American Burying Beetle
Googled that and got a couple of nice site that further clarified that this wasn't an American Burying Beetle because it doesn't have the orange on the segment between the head and the body.
http://www.fws.gov/southdakota...

The other suggestions there were: [iNicroporus marginatus[/i] but not sure, the front legs seem longer.
http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/...

[i[Nicrophorus orbicollis[/i] http://bugguide.net/node/view/... hmmm, not quite right

and [/i]Nicrophorus vestigator.[/i] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N... still not right


So, not sure!

Well there ya go, those front legs looked spider like, that's what threw me and I had my post open too long! great job OldGardener!

I was looking at beetles, too, until my husband walked by and asked, "What kind of spider is that?", Then, I took a closer look and realized what I thought was an antenna was actually a front leg!

Thank you
I had never seen that kind before and don't worry I don't kill spiders except brown recluse.

It was a first for me, too

You mean having a husband be right about something?

Actually, he's right most of the time

robertduval14 said:This is a slug...

Rob: Yep, that's a Slug and it looks identical to the thing that was on my glass door ... I'm currently on vacation in upstate N.Y. but talked to a friend this morning who said that we are having torrential rains back home in Florida ... so maybe it will drown before I get back home and before it has a chance to eat my plants!

Spittlebug (aka froghopper) nymph stage that WAS munching on my Cyclamen:


Just for the heck of it, I added this as an Image Set with labels. Maybe for future reference?

http://garden.org/apps/sets/vi...

Great photo woofie. Those things are every where this year. I have never seen them so prolific.

I'm thinking that we can use this Image Set thingie to link our bug pics to the plants they normally infest, just by adding the Plant Database ID number to our critter pics. Don't necessarily have to have the affected plant in the picture, just add the ID number. Whatcha think?

That sounds interesting woofie.

I like the idea.

I am not sure if this is the correct place to post this, but this grasshopper can decimate a plant in no time. The Lubber (Eastern) Grasshopper. I have found two species names for them, Romalea microptera http://bugguide.net/node/view/... and Romalea gutta which seems to be a synonym. Their preferred diet consists of mostly strap leaf plants : Daylilies, Crinums, Irises, Gladiolas and Amaryllis. They will not only eat the leaves, but also chomp on flowers and bulbs. But, they have no problem dining out on other plants for a little variety

the female lays eggs in the ground just a short time after reaching adulthood and can lay 1 to 3 "pods" each containing 10 to 50 eggs. The young hatch out in early to mid-spring depending on soil temps. They start out about 1/4 of an inch long and can reach over 3 inches in length by adulthood. Exceptionally wet winters can help control how many eggs survive.

http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/crea...

We have used a variety of controls for them, but found that wasp spray works well on the new hatchlings and sometimes the adults, but we use the tried and true method of one on one destruction. They are slow moving, so on the ground we crush them...but it can sometimes take a couple attempts....on plants...pruners are effective to either kill or remove to the ground for method 1. Last season we had a bumper crop....we killed over 300 of them in our garden. After a really wet winter, we have only seen and destroyed perhaps 50 or sixty adults and about as many hatchlings
This one was merrily eating away at the Crinum asiaticum this morning
.

this is the damage to the plant


This one was hiding in the leaves of a daylily

Wow! Thank you for sharing!

You are welcome. I just felt everyone should feel the same disgust for these critters, Mainly though since they cover such a large area, Southern edge of N Carolina across to Tennessee and west to Texas, I thought that it was worth sharing.

We sometimes see the Southern Lubber Grasshopper down here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R... and they sure can decimate plants quickly! Squishing is my method of eradication if I only see a couple but if I find more than a few I use insecticidal soap.

Aphids on Tropical Milkweed: