From the Pest’s Perspective

Disease-11-0001-EditWe tend to look at moles, grubs, deer, fungal diseases and other pests from the standpoint of their impact on us and our plants. It is as if their only goal in life is to ruin our garden and they seem to do this on purpose. What do they have against us? We’ve never done anything to deserve this treatment.

From their perspective, they could not care less about us. Their goals are rather simple. They want food, water, protection from predators and a place to reproduce their own kind. If these requirements are met, they do not care whether it is in the woods or in your backyard. It makes no difference to them.

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Plant Bugs

PGC-I-Four-Lined-Plantbug-04-EditWhat are those tiny black circular spots that mysteriously appear on the surface of leaves of mums (Chrysanthemum), mints (Mentha), Shasta Daisy (Leucanthemum), speedwell (Veronica) , black eyed Susans (Rudbeckia) and many other plants? Is the damage due to disease or insect or something else? Odds are that they are the work of a critter called plant bug.

Although we often use the term “bug” as being synonymous with insect, “plant bugs” are a specific subdivision of the insect world. They are insects of the Order Hemiptera whose mouthparts are adapted for piercing plants and sucking their juices. Several of them are common pests in the home landscape.

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