Death Warrants Issued. Help. Warning: CLOSE-UPs of my finger!
 

Hello all:

These guys are doing a number on my trusses, especially the PL plants.

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They come in green and light brown, and there's also a smaller/rounder version.

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I suspect my Neem/DE treatments for spidermites took out their predators.

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And now the new growth and the trusses below it have been wiped out by these guys on select plants. Some suffering more (Couilles de Taureau, most of my PLs, Danko) and others seemingly unaffected (Brad's Black Heart). They leave tell-tale brown marks where they leech away their day.

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It's not all bad news. It seems the DE treatments have not affected bees. Here's a happy camper for all you bee lovers.
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And one final sunflower from this morning.
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[B][SIZE="3"][/SIZE]Can you please offer your favorite way to eliminate my unwanted guests?


Much appreciated![/B]

Waiting for sundown to Neem 'em.

I use Garden Safe.

If that doesn't work, I use Triazicide. I've used Malathion in years past.

What are they?

I don't do anything about aphids, I've learned that if you don't spray insecticides all over the place the braconid wasps will come around and take the aphids out for you.

[URL="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLtUk-W5Gpk"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLtUk-W5Gpk[/URL]

Awesome macros
KarenO

They aren't aphids, they are common named tomato bugs. Engytatus Modestus is their taxonomic name. Formerly called Cyrtopeltus Modestus. They are a true bug with a hard body, and Neem wont even touch them, it only kills soft bodied insects. They love to feed on tomato blossoms and then they fall off. The only thing I found that actually killed mine was, unfortunately, Sevin. I have gotten them for 2 years now, they are horrible.

Dang hate that for you, being hard bodied DE powder should work? Never had them so can't say for sure but it should.

HA! The MC Hammer of "pollen pants" on that bee. So cool and great shots!

When I need some natural interference I go to this outfit.Good info for other pests.
[url]http://www.arbico-organics.com/category/pest-solver-guide-aphids[/url]

Never heard of Tomato Bugs before. How far north do they range?
I see they are an omnivore of the insect world, they prey on soft body insects like aphids and white fly.

They are bad news. I had them 4 years ago. I had already set a big crop of tomatoes so I still had a good crop of tomatoes. but everything above what was already set did not make one tomato. they feed on the stem below the terminal and any truss above that is history.I used malathion to kill them. I haven't had a problem since then but I keep a eye out for them. Nobody around here has had a problem with them. They didn't know what they were.

[QUOTE=RayR;496372]Never heard of Tomato Bugs before. How far north do they range?
I see they are an omnivore of the insect world, they prey on soft body insects like aphids and white fly.[/QUOTE]
Ray, I have no idea how far north.
Please could you put up a link that you got for your research on them? I would like to read about their feeding habits and anything else, because I think I am going to be seeing them more and more. I know they lay eggs inside a stem snd you can see a raised brown area where they are, which is a weak area that can break when the stem has a weight or wind stress on it.
My observation is that they like tomato plants much better than aphids and white flies.

[QUOTE=coastal bend;496382]They are bad news. I had them 4 years ago. I had already set a big crop of tomatoes so I still had a good crop of tomatoes. but everything above what was already set did not make one tomato. they feed on the stem below the terminal and any truss above that is history.I used malathion to kill them. I haven't had a problem since then but I keep a eye out for them. Nobody around here has had a problem with them. They didn't know what they were.[/QUOTE]

Malathion, huh? That works, good to know. How long do you have to wait to harvest after sprsying that stuff? Smelly stuff!

Thanks for the input guys and gals. I spent the day at the beach so I was away from my computer and the phone stays in the car. Plus I'm a firm believer in no web/text while driving so finally home and here we go.

1. CULPRIT
I'm glad we ID'd them, but kind of bummed they require napalm to eradicate.

2. OTHER PLAYERS
I had a pretty decent ecosystem going for a while, with everyone in balance. Spidermites moved in and I responded with DE/Neem. Irreversible disruption and now these guys are everywhere, I'd guesstimate about a 5-fold increase in numbers.
I've also seen aphids and thrips, but in much lesser numbers.

3. WHERE IT HAPPENS
Their movements are restricted to the new growth.

4. CONSEQUENCES
Trusses form, but w/o a single blossom. They have a yellow band right around the bend and dry/fall off.

5. TREATMENT
I have access to a bunch of poisons. Here's the list of available liver exercises:[LIST][*]Diazinon 25[*]Carbaryl[*]Cypermethrin 20[*]Deltamethrin 20[*]Chlorpyrifos[*]Triazicide[*]Malathion[/LIST]
[B][SIZE="3"]Any thoughts?[/SIZE][/B]

6. GLASS HALF-FULL

They were pretty big trusses, even in the face of the insect pressure.

Some plants seem to take their presence in stride. Here's a Brad's Black Heart two weeks ago:

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And here it is this morning:

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And these are on the way.

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Cool nipple.

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7. RE: Stanley Kirk Burrel

You should have seen the bee's moves, would have put Mr. Burrel to shame.

Here's another shot of the pants.

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8. DEAD BUG WALKING

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PS All (except the 1st pic of #6 glass half full) taken with a Canon PowerShot A4000 from a few years back. My dogs have chewed on it (tooth marks on the back LCD and most of the front casing) and it's been dropped more times than I can count. Tough little camera. I keep using it because it still does the job and I know no one will steal it. Recommend highly.

Thats bad Gerardo! Never seen these before though. Good luck to you amigo.