Insects and Gardens

by Eric Grissell

Started 1/25/2024 after receiving book from Annitia because my order will be delivered the first week in /feb.

1. I did not know what gall meant so; Def: n, Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Crown gall bacteria enter plant roots through wounds. Wounds may have been created by planting, grafting, soil insect feeding, root damage from excavation or other forms of physical damage. The wounded roots release chemicals which attract the bacteria.
2. Be a realistic gardener P.11
3. How is you garden defined?
4. It’s a nonfunctional ecosystem. P.12
5. Can a garden be left under it ow care? P.12
6. Gardener like to make “things” tough.  P.14
7. 1.1 billion tons of pesticides were used in 1993 p.14

PART 1

• Swallow tale butterfly’  
  • Head
  • Thoax
  • Abdomen
• Do we know are own garden?

What is (and is not) an insect

Insects

• All adult insects have 6 legs and divided into 3 parts
• Have 1 pair of antennas
• Insects have no backbones

There are many no insects in the garden p. 22

• Worms
• Slugs

Millipedes and centipedes feed on insects p. 23

Lookout for sowbugs, they eat plant seeds p.27

Spidars feed 0ff small organisms p.28

Spiders are not insects p.29

It’s documented on P. 32 that most gardeners have never seen a mite

Mites might be living on our faces!  EHHHH p.33

Order in the Garden

Numbers (which I like) p. 35

• Estimated weight of indects is 27 billion tons (1 tone=2000lbs)
• Its estimated that there are still 800,000-1 million insects to be discovered

Commonly found in garden

• Moths (p.39 they show pretty moths in this text)
• Butterflies

Bees and Ants

• They differ because they have no scales
• As a unique social behavior
• Complex reproductive cycle
• Their life cycle is in 4 stages
• Wasps hunt caterpillars p. 43

Flies

• Most remain hidden from view
• Most flies eatr like a sponge
• Flies do eat some insects p. 46

Beetles

• Beetles have a pair of harden fore wings p. 47
• There are over 400,000 defined species
• Beetles know no limit to normal food p.47
• Some beetles will eat your whole plant p.47
• 3they feed on clothing, carpets made of organic material p.48
• We rarely see beetles in flight p.48

True bugs, scales aphids, leafhoppers, whiteflies, and Cicadas

• It’s true that all bugs are insects, but not all insects are bugs.  P.49-p.50
• All fall into the heteropteran bucket
• There is approx. 82,000 species 
• They all have a sucking mouth

Garden habits

• Gardens have many plant feeders
• Leafhoppers and aphids are a test for veggie gardeners p.53

Orthoptera

• Odonatan:  There is about 25,000 species (cockroaches, grasshoppers, crickets, praying mantids, etc)

Odonata

• Have two sets of wings p.56
• There are 5,000 species of dragonflies Damselfies

Earwigs

• There are 1,200 species in the world
• Most feed off plants and aninimal material
• They are scavengers

On pages 67-70 there are pictures of Garden Anthropods

• It shows 28 pictur0es of these anthropods
• I would guess that in my 12 years as a master gardener I’ve only witnessed about 13

What does this say about my awareness?

• Though these picture could be a good resource😉

Some Basics of Insect Development

• Insects are about as different from humans as inhumanly possible P. 71
• There are more insects than any other life form P.71
• Big difference is that insect lack some sort of membrane between their segments P.71
• This membrane would have to be flexible enough for movement P. 72
• But, they need to grow
• There are 3 types of growth:
  • Simple Metamorphosis
  • Complete the metamorphosis
  • Intromediate metamorphosis P.72-3
• insect have 3 stages   P. 74
  • Egg
  • Nymph
  • Adult
• For Simple  Metamorphosis the  insect loses its skin
• For a complete metamorphosis the insect hass 4 life stages
  • Eggs, nymph, pupa, and adults
• The third type of rowth is intrermediate metamorphosis
  • Works with insects with scales
  • Picture on P.78

Insect Size

• Catapillar that consume more food will be larer P.76
• It comes from nymphal or larval nourishment p.76

For mating, the common insect way is male on top

Aphids

• Life cycle overwinter,
  • Eggs hatch in spring
  • Wingless females give birth young for several generatiojn p.83
  • The environment becomes overcrowded, winged individual arise and fly to new plants
  • Wingless females arew produced again
  • The cycle goes on and on.
  • For emals it’s a summer phenomenon

Hermaphroditsn

• The sex glands for both sexes are combined in a single individual P. 85
• These  insect do not need much contact to keep themselves amused P.  P. 85

Solitary insects

• There are 300 species of male moths P.86
• Most insects are loners p. 87

Social Insects

• Some insects care for their young p. 89
• Even earigs show a sense of motherly concern p.89
• Ant societies are second only to the honey bee.
• There is about 9000 species of ants

Insect Aggreatios

• Insects are creatures of circumstance
• The female aphid lives with her offsring
• Some have accidents at birth P. 94some aggregate for protectiom ].97

Chapter 4 Survival p.98

Feeding machines

• Most insect have strong opposing jaws which is used to chew food p.100
• Suck nectar through a thin flexible tube  p. 101

Feeding Types

• Erbivores P. 103
• Scavengers p.102
• For predators some insects have piercing sucing mouths used for protection p.106
• carnivores P. 104

Habitat Types

• terrestrial includes soil surfaces and above
• subterranean that live belowmthe soil level p.113
• aquatic (this includes mosquittos)
• a
• in depth of watere 4462 feet p.115
• insect survive wherever they can.

Part II

picture of ambus bug (that I cannot see) on  p.117  It’s for camo purposes.

The Ecology of Gardening

• Ecology is the study of home biplogical organisms interact among themselves and with their environment
• Insect are integral to the garden.  Insects are part of the “balance”, they are a stablizerp.120
• In your garden you need to achieve a healthy bio;ogical balance within the garden  p.120
• You need time a patience to establish a garden  p.121

The Function of Insects in the Garden

• Iinsects mate, eaat, and seek shelter in your garden p.122
• There are some tiny insects p.123 p. 131
• In Cananda and the United States almost all bats eat insects p.127

Decomposition

• A beetle might chew on a carcass to keep the garden clean p.131
• During while eating are not subject to great discussion in polite circles
• In the garden insects are wanted to breakdown  b
• Flies get nutrients fron dung producte p. 132

Pollution

• Pollution is needed to engineer the natural characterisdtis of fruit trees, veggetables,, and grassesp.p.125
• Talk about the bee colony p.136
• There are about 80,000 species of bees, wasps,and ants
• 15.000 species of flies
• 20,000 species of butterflies and moths
• 21,000 species of beetles
• About 240,000 species 0f flowering plants in the world p.138
• If you are a food gardener, pollinating insects increase your intake of veggies and fruit p. 139

Balance

• Normally not discussed in garden books
• Looking at the ecology balance, not design p. 142
• This is like buttrerfly gardens, water gardens, or organic gardens P.142
• Balanced gardening is relatively new and it was arisen in the latter half of the 20^th centuary P.142
• Note:  Bees are thieving flower to collect the nectar p.143
• We should encourage insects to “flock” in our gardens
• Was a experiment that within a year almost 1,500 different species came to a suburban garden,  These insects caused no harm to the garden  P.144
• Need to have grace gardening in a state of balance.  P. 145

Chapter 6  The Interaction between Insects and Plants

• Plant structure is buried out of site
• Avew root feeders like grubs (this also includes aphids)
• Also  includes larve from flies infesting on plant roots p.151
• Gall forms on plant roots
• Beetle larvae called wireworms feed on potato tubers p.152
• Picture of two flies mattting on daff0dill bulbs p.153

Crown Feeders

• The soil-level portion of a planht between its roots and stem is the crown p.154
• Thus the strawberry borer belongs to a group called clear-winged moths. 154

Stem,Branch, Shoot, and Trunk feeders

• All external stem feedrs during their entire life are sap sucking insects

Stem Feeders

• To most stem-feedong insect is the cut worm p. 155
• Aphids are sap feeders that drain fluid from host p.156

Strem Bores

• It bores through the internal structure of the plat
• The larva is in the stem and coud remain until it matures p. 157

• Wood bores are simply stem bores that attack tree trunks p.158 it’s a bostrichidds

• Wood borers could be a capenter ant  p.158

Leaf Feeders

• Are known by their feeding habit’s p.161
• Free-Living feeder feeds as though they roam around the leaves P.162
• Leaf Tollers:  the most common insect roller are moth larvae
• Leaf mines P.166

Flower and Bud Feeders

• The most famous bud feeders is the boll weevil P.167
•  Nectar feeders could be male mosquitos, or adult insects
• Pollen feeders like a ladybird beetle P.168
• Gall formers: they attack flowers at various stages

Seed, Pod, and Fruit Feeders

• Includes a widew diversity of insects

Fungivores

• Insects that eat fungi p. 172

Chapter 7 The Interactions of Insect with Eaach Other

Predators

• Most insects are excellent hunters and preditors

Praying Mantids

• Most likely, the largest insect in you garden would be the praying mantis p.178
• They ambush their prey p.178
• This is a beneficial garden insect p.1

Katydids and Jersalem Cricket

• Katydid  is0 a slow moving insect who likes to eat leaves p,180

Dragon flies flies & bees

• mosquitos prey p.182
• yellow jackes like to feed off of sugar substances
• wasps lay larvae on captured prey for benefit of offspring p.184

Beetles

• more than a half of insect predators are probably beetles p.186
• there are even ground beetles p.186
• a commonly seen beetle is the “lightning bug” p.186
• lightning bugs eat smaller bugs and snails p.186
• fireflies us this light to signal other to courtship p.187

Flies

• flies are associated to biting, garbage, and death p.187
• there are even Robber and assain flies p.187
• they have their own “area” p.187
• some flies appear to be small wasps p.188

True Bugs

• we don’t want plant feeders in our garden p.190
• earwigs considered to be a plant pest p.191 earwigs like mulch, they are a soil bodied insect
• If you incline to destroy all the insects…STOP…YOU ARE DOING THE WRONG THING p.191
• There are talks about Thrips p.191, moths and butterflies p.192, Parasaitoids (primary and secondary), Tertiary Parasitoids, p.192-5
• Talk about a wasp that is 1mm in length P. 196  Parasitic wasps attack many different insects p.197
• Flies attack many insects see p.197
• BOTTOM LINE…..BE AWARE OF INSECTS IN GARDEN

Chapter 8 Conceptions:  A View of the Garden

• There are nearly 9000 desribed species in thw world p.203

Warfare, or Moments of Aggression

• There are no pests in nature p.204
• With insects, garddeners boxing gloves come off.  It’s a gut  reaction P.205
• Why do we focus on insects? P.205
• Garden neutrality is a state of mind, of knowledge P. 205  stay away from hurting the soil/insects p. 205
• Pesticides could prolong the battle
• Do we want 1 insects to eliminate another?

The Natural condition

• Under natural conditions, biological and environmental factors, limit a population where they can be a nuisance for others p.210

Balance, or Harmony

• Harmony doess not mean peace P.211
• A plant seed must fall into the right place on the right soil p.211
• Insects and plants are trying to survive p.211
• Native plant people like native plants because they are in balance p. 212

Native communities thrive because they respect a structural and balanced assemblage of species that change over time.

Balanced gardening could be a theme for the next millennium.”Whats good for the garden is good for the bugs”

Chapter 9 Diversity:  The Basis of a Balanced Garden

• Diversity:  be able to return to equilibrium following a disturbance

As a gardener we are looking for natural “stuff” (not artificial)

Plant Diversity

• A large variety of species of a plant will increase its diversity
• A garden can can be divided allowing for the plant to double and increase its diversity p.228

Habitat stability

• Allow the species to grow and build up  p.230
• So which came first stability or diversity p. 231

Part iii

Insecta and Humans: The Gardener’s Perspective

• Insects are not really smarter than humans, we are vastly putnumbered p.234
• We as gardeners need to create a balanced garden p.235

Chapter 10  Increasing Diversity in the Garden

• Know your gardening principles p. 237
• See picture of butterfly bushp.p.238
• Wasp pictures p.239-41

Plant Structure

• Maybe think about plant combining p.243
• Use companion planting though don
• T get confused with many plants mixed together p.244
• All plants are companion plants
• Best way to increase structure of garden is to add more plants p.244

Physical and Architectual Structure

• Diversity can be both biological an dvisual p.245
• Size plays a big rolw p,245
• Think about the boarder to your garden P.245
• Most gardens need some reinovation to their visual view p.246
• You might want to have a diversity of insects in your garden p.247
• Have to manage the interactions between the predoitors and parastoids p.247
• Creating a year round arden is a struggle p.248
• The author does not like winter gardening p.248
• Attracxting insects is what flowers do best P.249
• These flowers might attract insects not that good for your plants p.250

Garden (Habitat) Structure

• Use a variety of plants at one time p.250

Water

• Is the fastest/easiest way to introduce a new world of plant diversity p. 250
• Water gardens are built for aesthetic reasons to increase our visual pleasure p.251
• Is a touch of water a touch of nature p.251

Soil

• Diversity is enriched with tge “right” adjustment to the soil. P. 253
• Gardeners react to clay soil e trying to lighten it p.253
• We need to accept the garden soil p.253
• For large areas maybe a kayer of sand
• Having sandy areas in a garden invites some pollinating bees and predators to become full time residence p.254

Exposure

• How much sun or shade do you allow our plants p,255

Relief

• Is a unchangeable position in you garden p.256
• Could create a mound P. 257

Mulch and Organic Debris

• Good for moisture retention P.257
• You don’t have to cart away all the garden debris  let it turn to mulch

Building a Garden of Diversity

• View the garden as a living structure p.258
• Insects will not eat plant food that is totally foreign to thrm p.260
• Gardeners garden by taste, emotion,,strwardship, environmental conserne p.261

Inviting Insects into the Garden

• Two types of visits
  • Stop in for a visit
  • Set yourself down
• See picture of yellowtail p264

Butterflies

• Many books about butterfly gardening p. 265
• Need plants to  attract butterflies p. 265 with purple, yellow, and orange
• Should have several structural patterns of sunny and shaded areas, flat rocks, open spaces, muddy areas p.266
• When butterflies find a food source they mate and look for host plants for larvae p.267
• Host plants should be native p.268
• A butterfly garden is a commitment for your entire life p.268

Bees and Wasps

• Solitary bees are valuable pollinators p.272
• Honey bees make honey
• Its difficult to make a bumblebee mad p,273
• A bee visits a plant to get pollen P.274
• Bees prefer to nest p.275
• Bubble  bees and social insects live in colonies p. 277
• Treat wasps just like bees p. 278

Other insects

• All insects should be invited into your garden
• Just add water and a dragon fly will come p.279
• A newpaper is an invite for insects p.280
• Earwigs eat slug eggs p.280
• Always keep native plants in the garden p.280
• All about interconnectedness of thee natural world p.282

Fear and Loathing: A

to do some Gardeners Guide

• Bugs are going harm p. 283 unimaginable harm in garden
• Or, inestimable harm to garden

Gardens in Crisis

• Don’t be careless
• Talk about statistics of garden related insects p.285

Bites and Stings

• Mosquito bitting is a nuisance p. 286  they are one of the most annoying intests p.287
• Fleas live in gardens that have animals, either wild or domestic p.288
• Lice is an uncommon insect p.288
• Honeybees are the only stinging insect that leaves the stringer behind p.289
• A vast majority of wasps, solitary bees do not sting p.290
• A yellp jacket is a social wasp p.291
• Picture of a cicada killer P.292

Garen Crises

• Do Iwant to spend $500 to produce $6 of tomatos?
• Insects like vegetables because we plant them P. 298
• As a gardener we each have our own rules p.300

Chapter 13 Appreciating Insects

• Respect the role of insects in the garden

Language and Literature

• Writers use insecta as examples p.303
• Insects are used metaphorically for both positive and negative  comparisons
• Could the papr wasp been a inspiration to paper making p.394
• Insects play a major role in many novels p. 305

Myths, Forrklore, and Religion

• In00sect were thought of as concepts of GFod
• In Australian mythology it’s thought of as sa praying mantis was god of creation p.306

Insect Singer and Music

• Singinmg insects are a past time in China
• Creates inspiration for writers p.307

Arts and Crafts

• Insects are not onl used to inspire art, it’s body can be used to create art.

History Lesson

• In the bible there were locust
• Black death in Middle Ages (1/3^rd of Europe pop. Died)
• 2-3 milllion Russians died of typhoid p.312
• P.313 the good of insects is likely much better than the bad

Getting Even:  Biting Back

• There are 1000 species of insects that are eaten daily from around thw world
• A peanut butter and jelly sandwich may contain 56 insect parts p.313

Insect Ranching

• Insect might be more profitable to grow than buying stock on the NYSE

The Realistic Gardener

• It doesn’t matter how you garden as long as you put the maximum awareness for balance.  P.319
• We are looking for the perfect garden
• Refer to the Ecology of Eden. P.320
• The fact is that we move plants and insects to new areas p.321
• Thus they are  “duped”
• Talks of Master Gardeners on page 323
• Hardings law:  we can never do merely just one thing p.325