[CH] BUGS
Calvin Donaghey (gdonaghey@bitstreet.com)
Mon, 10 May 1999 20:52:19 -0500
Maybe one of the more experienced gardeners could help me with a
problem. There is a batch of bugs proliferating in my business
partner's (also a chile head) pepper patch that I can't identify. They
are soft beetles, about the diameter of a BB, flatter and much smaller
than most Ladybugs, slightly elongate, with a black head and thorax, red
abdomen with one large, irregular-shaped and dorsally centered black
spot. They don't stink when squished, but they look similar to a
predatory stink bug but without the proboscis. A neighbor, who swears
he knows, says they are Japanese Ladybugs, but they seem more interested
in leaves than aphids. The local Ag Extension agent says they're "some
kinda' hard-shelled beetle that eats plants". The local Garden World
manager got out a book and looked, got another book and looked, and says
he doesn't know for sure. I have suffered a little nibbling on lower
leaves, but I've never caught them in the act. I've ruled out Mexican
Bean Beetles and all the Ladybugs I have pics of (10 or so, including
Asian and Japanese Ladybugs). They have wings under the soft shell, but
they never fly. They bunch up on the ground or undersides of leaves.
Shaped like a tiny stink bug. Sorry I'm not equipped to send a
picture. Anyone ever seen anything like this? He doesn't want to chase
them off if they're good guys.
TIA,
Calvin