Oct 02, 2018
Top 10 Most Wanted Bugs in Your Garden – Syrphid Fly
*This is an excerpt from Top 10 Most Wanted Bugs in Your Garden, ANR-2283.
Aliases: hover fly, flower fly
Wanted For: Hunting down aphids, mealybugs, and other pests, and for pollinating plants.
Family History: Adults are known to be important pollinators. The larvae suck the juices out of their insect victims. A single larva can consume hundreds of victims per month.
Sightings: Larvae are usually found under leaves in the company of aphids. Adults can be seen lurking around sunflowers, feverfew, and other nectar-rich flowers.
Master of Disguise: With their yellow and black stripes, the adults appear to be bees, but they have only one set of wings and can’t sting. The larvae look like fat, legless caterpillars.
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