Oct 02, 2018
Top 10 Most Wanted Bugs in Your Garden – Soldier Beetle
*This is an excerpt from Top 10 Most Wanted Bugs in Your Garden, ANR-2283.
Aliases: leatherwing, cantharid
Wanted For: Attacking and feeding on aphids and other soft-bodied insects.
Family History: Adults feed on pollen and insect pests on plants. The larvae, or young, hunt for pests in leaf litter and soil.
Sightings: Known to feed on the pollen of flowers such as goldenrod and milkweed while waiting for its prey. Reports of sightings appear in early spring, shortly after aphids begin hatching.
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