Comments on: More Random Farminess

By: dangitAnge

dangitAnge — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 22:59:44 +0000

My 10 says that unknown bug is a “Bug Saw Louie”. Nods to BuzzSaw Louie from The Toy that Saved Christmas Veggie Tales movie. :giggle:

By: Nicole

Nicole — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 05:47:15 +0000

Probably is a wild rose bush . If it starts growing purple flowers though, make sure none of the kids eat the berries they are very poisinious.

By: Christy Collins

Christy Collins — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 03:16:12 +0000

Definitely a wild rose bush and I think those grasshoppers are actually locusts, but would need to see them closer up ;)

Do watch out for assassin bugs. I got bit by one about two years ago and it was extremely painful.

By: Ashley

Ashley — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 22:40:41 +0000

Wild roses! We have them all over Kansas but nowhere near as sick as that poor plant. :( Please prune it this year! As a girl I used to eat the pale pink petals just for fun, but never made tea out of the hips.

I don’t remember what we called those bugs. ‘Ugly bugs’? Me and my brother were always making up names for insects we found. If you spot any “giant” mosquitoes, those are pretty harmless. Actually, we called them “Critters” and loved them because they ate flies. We milked cows and hated flies.

The end.

By: Julia

Julia — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 01:01:45 +0000

That kind of spider (Banana spider?) landed smack on my chest the first day of school when I first moved to Arkansas. I never saw anything like it in my life at that point, and there it was sitting on my chest. Oh you can imagine the screams. Good thing I had a friend around to flick it off, lol.

By: Tabitha

Tabitha — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 21:17:32 +0000

My gardener sister & I think they look like rose hips – full of vitamin C – you may possibly have a wild rose plant there! :) I’d check more to be sure – but that’s our best guess! Tabitha

By: Shannon M.

Shannon M. — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 21:00:58 +0000

I dare you to throw one of the grasshoppers into the orb spiders web:) Gather the kids first!!!

By: Laura in UT

Laura in UT — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 20:22:37 +0000

Katie, how can you contain your self with all of this “school” right out your back door? I am so loving the pictures and stories of your day! I am a little jealous :)
<3

By: Vicki

Vicki — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 19:16:09 +0000

What an ugly bug! We were sitting here reading posts and looking at pictures when Luke says, “I see THOSE bugs in my room all the time!” YIKES! I had no idea! Thanks to whomever posted the link about those ugly critters! Katie, your place looks just so beautiful and serene!

By: TammiK

TammiK — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 18:48:12 +0000

My first thought for the black bug was an Assassin Bug. I see that several other readers also think so. There are a bazillion different types. They are generally good guys (they eat bad bugs) but have a nasty bite if you get too close.

The red things are rose hips.

By: Heidi

Heidi — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 17:40:34 +0000

I love wheel bugs!! If you ever find a tobacco hornworm with wasp eggs all over its back, put it in a jar with a wheel bug… that’s enough school for one day.

By: Tammee

Tammee — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 16:44:04 +0000

Yellow Garden Spider – Argiope auranita Typical Orb Weavers, Family Araneidae

This distinctive spider is often noticed because of its large size and its habit of building webs in gardens and grassy areas near houses. It is most typically found in tall grasslands.

The small cephalothorax is tipped with silver hairs, and the slightly oval abdomen is patterned yellow (sometimes orange) and black.

By: Stacy

Stacy — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 15:32:56 +0000

I also thought it was a rose bush with rose hips.. for what it’s worth, that is what wild roses look like around here in MN. They are short to the ground, often less than a foot tall. They almost always look spindly and scraggly. I have to say, I am thankful that I haven’t ever seen either of the other creatures ;) We aren’t that much into bugs, thank you. Sure wish you lived closer, we could help you populate your pastures much faster!

By: Lynae

Lynae — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 15:04:51 +0000

Jean is right, it’s a wheelbug.

By: Abiga/karen

Abiga/karen — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:23:17 +0000

I agree with the first person. That was a rose bush with rosehips which I thought could be used to make rosehip tea. We also have tons of grasshoppers here and a plot with 5 of those orb spiders all in a row of various sizes. They actually helped us notice what was around them – raspberries and grapes. Not that we will be clearing that area out right now. Blessings.

By: Cecelia Zandbergen

Cecelia Zandbergen — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:06:38 +0000

Katie,
we have ten children and have the possibility of 10.3 acres but the house is four bedroom 2 bath 1200 sq feet…Could you clue me in please on how it is on the inside? Is it really cramped? Ok…i will wait…you could email me :D

By: Jean

Jean — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 12:59:13 +0000

Okay I had to look up the bug:

Binomial name
Arilus cristatus
(Linnaeus, 1763)
The Wheel bug (Arilus cristatus), in the family Reduviidae, is one of the largest terrestrial true bugs in North America, being up to 1 1/2 inches, or 38 mm, in length; it is the only member of its genus. A characteristic identifying structure is the wheel-shaped pronotal armour. They are predators upon soft-bodied insects such as caterpillars, japanese beetles, etc., which they pierce with their beak and inject salivary fluids that dissolve soft tissue. Because most of their prey are pests, wheel bugs are considered beneficial insects, although they can inflict a painful bite if handled carelessly.
Wheel bugs are common in eastern North America, although many people have never seen them. They are camouflaged and very shy, hiding whenever possible. They have membranous wings and fly with a clattery flight which can easily be mistaken for the flight of a large grasshopper. The adult is gray to brownish gray in color, but the nymphs (which do not yet have the wheel-shaped structure) are reddish in color.
Contents [hide]
1 Characteristics
2 Reproduction
3 Gallery
4 References

By: Barb

Barb — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 12:57:10 +0000

we call that ugly bug an assassin beatle. If you have a fireplace..get the chimney swept. The love to hang out there. Don’t step on them because they do stink, hence stink bug name. Wow I knew this slighly useless information would come in handy someday.

By: Stack

Stack — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 12:43:04 +0000

Bean wants to know if that spider bites. That is it. She didn’t want to know if Josiah was falling or jumping…I do.

She wasn’t particularly interested in the black bug, other than, we had one sort of like it on our screen yesterday, but ours had orange tips on it’s antennae…we’re looking ours up today…so maybe they are related.

Neither she nor I know what the berries are…I agree that they look a touch like rose hips, although TEEENY TINY compared to any rose hips I’ve ever seen.

She cares not about the grasshoppers, other than to mention those are pretty big…but she only said anything because I pressed.

And oh, that last picture sure is pretty.

I’m working on a new blog…see above…in case you wanna change your favorites.

Talk to you later.
Stack

By: Mrs. Mobunny

Mrs. Mobunny — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 12:40:50 +0000

the big ugly gray bug is just a good old stink bug……they’ll fly on you and kind of stick, it is not pleasant. they smell bad when you kill them, they will also get on your laundry and come in the house………..i don’t know their real name.
don’t eat the berries.