Insects In My Backyard

I have seen many butterflies and bugs pass through my garden. As a child I caught almost every butterfly and many other insects found in Indiana for middle school collections. With the loss of habitat the selection of butterfly and insect visitors is limited. Small flowers with abundant nectar will attract a large variety of adult insects.

Late April 2006 I saw Cabbage butterflies Pieris rapae and perhaps a fast moving Painted Lady Vanessa cardui.

The first week in May 2006 I saw a tiger swallowtail Papilio glaucus.

May 6, 2006 I saw a pair of mating black swallowtail butterflies Papilio polyxenes

May 10, 2006 I swatted my first mosquito .

Butterflies seen in my garden

Cabbage butterflies Pieris rapae

Common Buckeye Junonia coenia was occasionally seen years ago. I have not noticed it in recent years.

Common Wood Nymph Cercyonis pegala was more common in the past, have not noticed them in some time.

Great Spangled Fritillary Speyeria cybele has not been noticed in several years.

Milbert's Tortoiseshell Nymphalis [Aglais] milberti is usually moving fast, but usually seen if enough time is spent among the flowers.

Monarch Danaus plexippus the well known butterfly, it is still common in my garden as a butterfly. I rarely see the caterpillar's in spite of many host butterflyweed and swamp milkweed plants growing in my garden. I suspect the red milkweed beetle has dominated the milkweed plants and need to be controlled as they may be out competing or killing the monarch caterpillars. Monarch Watch.org

Mourning Cloak Nymphalis antiopa is not as common as once seen, but often visits without stopping for long.

Painted Lady Vanessa cardui, I have seen as many as a dozen Painted Ladies on a clump of Brazilian Verbena Verbena bonariensis flowers. One concern is this plant produces copious amounts of tiny seed and results in thousands of seedlings that need to be weeded out. This has a scary potential, based on comments on Dave's Garden it may become an alien invader of natural areas as we have more mild winters. Not a reliable perennial, nonetheless it does survive in protected locations in my zone 5 garden.

Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta is seen most years and often thought be a painted lady.

Red Spotted-purple Limenitis arthemis is not common, but is usually seen if enough time is spent in the garden.

Clouded Sulphur Colias philodice common yellow butterfly.

Black Swallowtail butterflies Papilio polyxenes

Giant Swallowtail Papilio cresphontes is a tough one to photograph as they rarely stay long in my garden, just pass on through.

Pipevine Swallowtail Battus philenor is another butterfly that rarely stops moving, but does spend a fair amount of time in the garden.

Spicebush Swallowtail Papilio troilus is often confused with pipevine swallowtail although is less colorful.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Papilio glaucus spends a lot of time in my garden on various composite flowers. One of the best is the prairie cup plant.

Zebra Swallowtail Eurytides marcellus has not been seen in my garden in years. Its caterpillar preference for only pawpaw trees severly limits its survial as its food source declines with habitat loss.

Viceroy Limenitis archippus confused with the monarch does not seem to be as common as the city crowds out the wild areas and wild habitat is mowed for neatness.

Insects

Bright green beetles at Fallis Cemetery may have been blister beetles Lytta cyanipennis.

Insect Pests

Photo Gallery of Pests

Boxwood Pests, Boxwood Psyllid, Boxwood Problems is an aphid relative.

Red milkweed beetle

Especially obnoxious is the Japanese beetle introduced around 1916 on the east coast it has steadily marched westward across the country. It arrived in Indiana in the 1980's. When I did a horticulture internship at the Chicago Botanic Garden in 1994 most people there had never heard of Japanese beetles, except for a few who had worked in east coast public gardens. Over the past few years I have eliminated several plants that were too much of a magnet for the beetles in my garden. Until they develop specific predator controls handpicking or chemical spraying of adults give limited success. Unless the whole neighborhood treats for the killing the grubs in the turf grass, doing individual lawns seems meaningless and a waste of time. A number of web sites have good information I will not repeat here.

• Japanese beetle
• IPM Japanese beetle info
• Purdue News article
• Purdue E-75 control sheet
• West Virginia article with photos

Columbine Sawfly with photos at Purdue. Columbine sawfly, Pristophora aquilegiae. Green caterpillar-like larvae feed on columbine leaves, often defoliating plants just as they begin to bloom. Feeding begins at the leaf margins and progresses inward. Their presence on damaged leaves may be difficult to detect because they can grip the edge of the leaf with their back legs and hide beneath the leaf when they sense someone approaching. Small plants can be quickly defoliated, leaving only green twiggy stumps behind. They are presently thought to have only one generation each year. As soon as leaves emerge, begin scouting the upper and lower leaf surfaces of susceptible plants. A non-chemical option in the small garden is to handpick larvae. Initially larvae may be difficult to find because of their small size and camouflage. Foliar insecticide sprays can also be effective. In Connecticut, contact acting products such as acephate, pyrethrins, permethrins, and spinosad can be used against this pest, as long as the label lists sawflies and application sites such as perennial or landscape beds. Horticultural oil and insecticidal soap may be used when larvae are small, but the spray must coat all the sawflies for good control. Products containing imidacloprid can be applied as a soil drench early in the season. It is important to note that Bacillus thurengiensis (B.t.) products will not be effective against this pest because it is not a butterfly or moth larvae. Do not apply foliar insecticides during bloom while bees or hummingbirds are present. Be sure to read and follow all label directions.

Common Stalk Borer Papaipema nebris has become a common problem in my garden eating the soft pith in the middle of lily stems causing them to break in strong winds or from the weight of water from rain or sprinkling. They don't seem to kill the plants, only weaken stems which can break as described. This BugGuide photo, shows this caterpillar pest that feeds on over 175 host plant species. There does not seem to be a practical control other than removing infected plant parts.

In September cinch bugs? in grass are flying everywhere. Skeletonized leaves on dogwood trees is damage from tree crickets.

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