Oct 02, 2018
Top 10 Most Wanted Bugs in Your Garden – Dragonfly
*This is an excerpt from Top 10 Most Wanted Bugs in Your Garden, ANR-2283.
Aliases: skimmer, darner, clubtail
Wanted For: Preying on unsuspecting flying insects such as mosquitoes, flies, and midges.
Family History: A deadly predator able to catch prey in mid-air. Dragonfly larvae (nymphs) live in water and are efficient hunters, eating mosquito larvae and other insects, snails, and small fish.
Known Accomplices: Often seen in the company of its relative, the damselfly (lower right) another insect predator. Don’t be fooled; when at rest, dragonflies hold their wings outstretched while damselflies fold their wings closed over their bodies.
Sightings: Last seen near garden ponds, streams, and other bodies of water.
Mike McQueen, Regional Extension Agent, Home Grounds, Gardens and Home Pests; Charles Ray, Research Fellow, Entomology and Plant Pathology, Auburn University; and Kerry Smith, State Master Gardener Program Coordinator, Auburn University
Reviewed November 2021, Top 10 Most Wanted Bugs in Your Garden, ANR-2283
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*This is an excerpt from Top 10 Most Wanted Bugs in Your Garden, ANR-2283.
AKA: Pycnanthemum
This perennial plant grows 3 feet tall and branches frequently, often with a bushy appearance. Blooms in the summer to early fall. Each cluster is surrounded by leafy bracts that appear white.
Mike McQueen, Regional Extension Agent, Home Grounds, Gardens and Home Pests; Charles Ray, Research Fellow, Entomology and Plant Pathology, Auburn University; and Kerry Smith, State Master Gardener Program Coordinator, Auburn University
Reviewed November 2021, Top 10 Most Wanted Bugs in Your Garden, ANR-2283
*This is an excerpt from Top 10 Most Wanted Bugs in Your Garden, ANR-2283.
AKA: Daucus carota
This flower is a biennial herbaceous plant that grows 3 to 4 feet tall. Consists of one or several hairy, hollow stems, growing from one central stem, each with an umbrella-shaped flower cluster at the top. Blooms in the summer.
Mike McQueen, Regional Extension Agent, Home Grounds, Gardens and Home Pests; Charles Ray, Research Fellow, Entomology and Plant Pathology, Auburn University; and Kerry Smith, State Master Gardener Program Coordinator, Auburn University
Reviewed November 2021, Top 10 Most Wanted Bugs in Your Garden, ANR-2283
*This is an excerpt from Top 10 Most Wanted Bugs in Your Garden, ANR-2283.
AKA: Celosia cristata
This flower is an annual, nonnative, herbaceous plant. Blooms with a compacted crested head 2 to 5 inches across on leafy stems that are 12 to 28 inches long. Name is suggestive of a rooster’s comb. Blooms from late summer through late fall.
Mike McQueen, Regional Extension Agent, Home Grounds, Gardens and Home Pests; Charles Ray, Research Fellow, Entomology and Plant Pathology, Auburn University; and Kerry Smith, State Master Gardener Program Coordinator, Auburn University
Reviewed November 2021, Top 10 Most Wanted Bugs in Your Garden, ANR-2283