European Honey Bee

Name: Apis Mellifera

Beads? No, bees. They’re great, aren’t they? This is the European Honey Bee, otherwise known as the Western Honey Bee. It is the most common of all 40 other bee species. Buzzzzzz.

Expert pollinator

Don’t feel like carrying around a tiny paint brush, painting tiny pepper flowers to pollinate? Are people pointing and laughing from afar? Then you need to ask for the help of the honey bee, an expert pollinator. The honey bee is the most important insect for pollinating crops. Just how much?

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Red Cherry Marigold

Name: Tagetes patula

A commonly grown, non-invasive french variety. Originally a sacred flower of the Aztecs.

Beneficial in the garden?

You bet. The roots repel nematodes and the flowers can act as a decoy or, strawman for Japanese beetles to protect your other crops.

… marigolds are best known for their ability to suppress plant-parasitic nematodes. Marigold roots release the chemical alpha-terthienyl, one of the most toxic naturally occurring compounds found to date (Gommers and Bakker, 1988). 1

red-cherry-marigold

1 edis.ifas.ufl.edu

Asian Ladybug (Harmonia Axyridis)

Name: Harmonia Axyridis

Look at those Asian Ladybugs! They are also known as the harlequin ladybird and Harmonia Axyridis. The Asian Ladybug live between two to three years.

Their life cycle begins with a female ladybugs laying groups of tiny yellow eggs on the underside of leaves. When hatched, the larvae emerge looking like black and yellow tiny alligators. In this stage, these beetles feeds on aphids, whiteflies, thrips, spider mites, and many other pests at an unprecedented rate. It’s similar to, but not as voracious as the Lacewing during this stage. The ladybug larvae molts around 4 times before the pupa stage, metamorphosizing into the easily identified flying friend.

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Blue Dasher Dragonfly

This Blue Dasher, also known as a Pachydiplax Longipennis, is a dragonfly that comes from the Skimmer family. If any entomologist happen to be perusing, I am aware this could be a Western Pondhawk. However, the thorax seems to confirm the Blue Dasher? Either way, would like it properly labeled.

Females and immature males are greenish on the face and thorax, with a brownish black abdomen marked along the top with two parallel lines of pale yellow to yellowish green dashes. Mature males are greenish on the face and thorax but the abdomen is pruinose blue. The wings are mostly clear but may be clouded with brownish yellow at the bases, especially on the hindwings. 1

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Southern Black Racer Snake (Snakes on a Plant)

Name: Coluber Constrictor Priapus

I had a Garden of Eden thing going on this morning. Here’s a Southern Black Racer Snake relaxing on one of my Cheiro Roxa plants, a capsicum chinense with awesome flavor.

I got a little too close to the plant before I noticed it. These snakes are not poisonous, but can be aggressive if threatened. Luckily, this one was very chillwave. Might have just been before it’s morning coffee.

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