and that fly is probably Scathophaga stercoraria
Friend Or Foe? Predators Of Eden
- Thread starter Amy Gardner
- Start date
sry to take this long
that fly is fairly certain a member of the soldier flies family or Stratomyidae
And about them ants @Head1982
ants often farm or milk aphids because they suck up the plant juices and excrete a lot of sugars which the ants love
better keep an eye out for that ...
ants often farm or milk aphids because they suck up the plant juices and excrete a lot of sugars which the ants love
better keep an eye out for that ...
The Celt
Well-Known Member
@InTheShed suggested I share this pic for reference, not a predator but a pest I have not seen in my cannabis plants before.
and this is the early damage to watch for
All the wounds I have found were right at the juncture between stem and side shoots.
After a bit of research, I believe it to be the European Corn Borer which will attack Cannabis and is very closely related to the Hemp Borer. Bt used to be used to control them until some fool decided to incorporate the insect deadly protein into the corn genome and now they are resistant to Bt...Thanks so much Monsanto.
If anybody else knows more, please share. Going to try using Bt but not hopeful at this point.
and this is the early damage to watch for
All the wounds I have found were right at the juncture between stem and side shoots.
After a bit of research, I believe it to be the European Corn Borer which will attack Cannabis and is very closely related to the Hemp Borer. Bt used to be used to control them until some fool decided to incorporate the insect deadly protein into the corn genome and now they are resistant to Bt...Thanks so much Monsanto.
If anybody else knows more, please share. Going to try using Bt but not hopeful at this point.
Try spinosad
Capt Jack’s concentrate
Capt Jack’s concentrate
- Thread starter
- #226
Thanks for sharing it Celt 
Definitely a foe in the garden. Ugly sucker too!
I don’t know anything about them at all, apart from what you’ve just posted.
Hopefully someone will swing by who can shed some more light
Definitely a foe in the garden. Ugly sucker too!I don’t know anything about them at all, apart from what you’ve just posted.
Hopefully someone will swing by who can shed some more light
Thought I would post a friend, if a scary large friend:
View media item 1786222
View media item 1786221
I love the marking on its back whatever is it.
View media item 1786222
View media item 1786221
I love the marking on its back whatever is it.
Kodiak420
Well-Known Member
This was from few years ago. He stayed pretty busy until the webs started driving me nuts.
wtf ... a black widow on yer white widow ??
steatoda nobilis or noble false widow
Kodiak420
Well-Known Member
Hahaha, i wonder that also..
Funny enough you can find in Canada. Usually come in with fruit and vegetables from other countries.
latrodectus variolus or northern black widowThis was from few years ago. He stayed pretty busy until the webs started driving me nuts.
Thanks Pt! Nice to see you again
Wiki article said this:
"In 2011, the spider was reported as an established invasive species in the USA, in Ventura County, California."
So I guess it took 9 years to make it down to Los Angeles!
The Celt
Well-Known Member
It might have 8 legs, but they are short, I’d say 9 years was pretty good speed 
- Thread starter
- #235
Wonderful! I do love spiders in the garden. 
... 9 years ... that long for what 20mi ?? lazy a$$ spider lolIt might have 8 legs, but they are short, I’d say 9 years was pretty good speed
every now and then i end up here againThanks Pt! Nice to see you again
nice to still be recognized by some 
The Celt
Well-Known Member
Well I now have these guys eating my leaves and new growth:
Buffalo Tree Hopper
Also have leaf hoppers of various sorts but this fella is killing new bud formation and so far, the only cure I can find is to spray them with soapy water. They are fast and don’t try squeezing them, if you can catch them, they are hard and those points will dig in
Buffalo Tree Hopper
Also have leaf hoppers of various sorts but this fella is killing new bud formation and so far, the only cure I can find is to spray them with soapy water. They are fast and don’t try squeezing them, if you can catch them, they are hard and those points will dig in
reminds me of them alien creatures chasing Vin diesel in Pitch BlackWell I now have these guys eating my leaves and new growth:
Buffalo Tree Hopper
Also have leaf hoppers of various sorts but this fella is killing new bud formation and so far, the only cure I can find is to spray them with soapy water. They are fast and don’t try squeezing them, if you can catch them, they are hard and those points will dig in
- Thread starter
- #240
Hello fellow bug-interested folk. I had a scare for root aphids recently that turned out not to be, I’m pretty sure.
I did a good investigation of the rootball and documented some fungus gnat activity that is good to see and found another gnat-like bug that I would like help identifying, please!
First up a few pics of the little flying things stuck on the sticky traps. Mostly fungus gnats (dusted in DE from their escape from the soil), and a few of some other kind. These other ones are similar to the fungus gnats but with some different features.
I am hoping the Predators of Eden brains trust is on hand to help.
This one below is definitely a fungus gnat, I’m pretty sure. But when I was researching about root aphids, I read that one way to distinguish them from gnats was that RA have 2 ‘tailpipes’ at the back end - so this feature on the gnats that’s visible here (and i was seeing it through the loupe at that time) was a contributor to my thinking I might have the RA. Pretty sure it’s a gnat though - an article I linked in my journal on root aphids shows the ‘tailpipes’ as looking quite different (I’ll come back w link!). Phewf! I think...
These below are all something that’s not a FG - yet to be identified. They were also in the soil.
So now we get to the rootball! We saw quite a few crawling and lots flying out and there were larvae and eggs too - I think I managed a photo of an egg attached to a root. There were lots of those. There is also a pic that shows some damaged root - we saw lots of that - and a FG head poking out below.
You can see how the larvae hangout along the root - munching into it. Li’l buggers!
Pics:
I can see why the Panama that was growing in it had a stoppage at the end and I’m glad I chucked that pot of soil. There was just a population explosion there for a bit. I have taken heavier steps to mitigate in the grow space (drenched pots with a product called Eco Neem and the tent got a complete clean, vinegar and followed up with a clove spray followed up with another essential oils based spray called Bug Boss that kills eggs - and mould too i think) and numbers have dropped to nearly nothing, I just need to keep up with more and varied IPM ‘prongs’ of approach and replenish the mosquito dunk in the res more regularly.
Right at the end of inspecting the rootball, this funky looking thing was amongst the soil. We were just working on cardboard put straight down on the grass tho’ so I’m not sure this critter was in the pot. Regardless, it looks to me like the kind of predator bug that uses those forward fronds to scoop up eggs.
I want to know what it is so I had to include it here. And maybe it did come out of the pot, we will never know
That’s the pest analysis done for now - hopefully for good! Or a good good while
I did a good investigation of the rootball and documented some fungus gnat activity that is good to see and found another gnat-like bug that I would like help identifying, please!
First up a few pics of the little flying things stuck on the sticky traps. Mostly fungus gnats (dusted in DE from their escape from the soil), and a few of some other kind. These other ones are similar to the fungus gnats but with some different features.
I am hoping the Predators of Eden brains trust is on hand to help.
This one below is definitely a fungus gnat, I’m pretty sure. But when I was researching about root aphids, I read that one way to distinguish them from gnats was that RA have 2 ‘tailpipes’ at the back end - so this feature on the gnats that’s visible here (and i was seeing it through the loupe at that time) was a contributor to my thinking I might have the RA. Pretty sure it’s a gnat though - an article I linked in my journal on root aphids shows the ‘tailpipes’ as looking quite different (I’ll come back w link!). Phewf! I think...
These below are all something that’s not a FG - yet to be identified. They were also in the soil.
So now we get to the rootball! We saw quite a few crawling and lots flying out and there were larvae and eggs too - I think I managed a photo of an egg attached to a root. There were lots of those. There is also a pic that shows some damaged root - we saw lots of that - and a FG head poking out below.
You can see how the larvae hangout along the root - munching into it. Li’l buggers!
Pics:
I can see why the Panama that was growing in it had a stoppage at the end and I’m glad I chucked that pot of soil. There was just a population explosion there for a bit. I have taken heavier steps to mitigate in the grow space (drenched pots with a product called Eco Neem and the tent got a complete clean, vinegar and followed up with a clove spray followed up with another essential oils based spray called Bug Boss that kills eggs - and mould too i think) and numbers have dropped to nearly nothing, I just need to keep up with more and varied IPM ‘prongs’ of approach and replenish the mosquito dunk in the res more regularly.
Right at the end of inspecting the rootball, this funky looking thing was amongst the soil. We were just working on cardboard put straight down on the grass tho’ so I’m not sure this critter was in the pot. Regardless, it looks to me like the kind of predator bug that uses those forward fronds to scoop up eggs.
I want to know what it is so I had to include it here. And maybe it did come out of the pot, we will never know
That’s the pest analysis done for now - hopefully for good! Or a good good while
