This is a lady bug:
After a lot of note-taking, we broke up into groups of 6 and traveled to 6 stations where we had puzzlers and guidebooks to help us identify and make recommendations for the various critter problems we were presented with. We also learned some stuff about the side effects of pesticides and how to read labels as well as more info on weeds and diseases. I assume its obvious but, I have no intention of ever using anything non-organic nor would this class encourage that but, there are some organic pesticides that are pretty dangerous.
The clues would go something like this: "I am a gardener and I have some bean plants that aren't doing so well but, the plant is covered with lady bugs so....should I just not worry about it since the ladybugs will probably eat whatever it is?" A HA! Said the group.... and we turned to our handy field guides and discovered the sinister Mexican Bean Beetle that is not a friend of the garden AND is a lady bug look-a-like.
This is a Mexican Bean Beetle:
The biggest highlight for me was realizing how great the books were. The best books were from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden (yeah, that's right, P.S. 206 is in Da House) and they are really small and easy to use. You just look up some info and you can pretty much figure out what you've got and what to do about it. I got up this morning and ordered all three of them online.Here are a few more interesting things that I learned:
1) Only female Mosquitos bite
2) The Praying Mantis isn't so great. They do eat insects but, they eat ALL insects including ones you might want to keep around.
3) Ladybugs totally rock-- they eat aphids which are some bad bad bugs (er.. I mean insects)
4) More than half the world's creatures are Beetles and my state has somewhere between 25 and 50 THOUSAND species of insects.
5) In additon to shears I need to get a magnifying glass to identify insects. Every once in a while (says my instructor) I might want to catch one and toss it in the freezer so I can examine it more closely. I am sure my roommate will love that!
2 comments:
so, not exactly related to this post, but i need some advice on the new plants i got. as you might remember, i've had those few succulants by my window - they're doing very well... i only have to water them once every two weeks. but i thought i would graduate to slightly more needy plants.
so i bought myself a daffadil (sp?) and a poka-dot plant. they both say they need moderatly moist soil.. but what does that translate to? how often do you think i should be watering them?
Others may have better info but, here is what I suggest: Find a spot that matches what the label says the plant needs (in terms of light)and that isn't on top of a heater or something. Check the soil every week by sticking your finger in up to the knuckle. If its dry, water it. If its moist leave it alone but check it again a few days later. If you can, water from the bottom so you always give the plant the same amount and it gets down to the roots. I have one plant in my house that I water once every 3 weeks and another that I water every week. You'll get a feel for what works and, keep in mind, you may have to adjust as the weather changes and plants get thirstier in your hot apartment. One good thing to remember is that most houseplants die from OVER watering.
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