Insect Mysteries

In getting back from a camping trip up to Sointula last week, I took the early evening to water my flowers and cut down some thistles. This is about all I have been doing in my garden this year -- strictly maintenance. Watering the garden is one of my favourite things to do. I've lost my water wand, but still have the attachment that makes the water spill out in a soft rose. It's not the watering that I like so much, but rather the passing of the waters' direction over the plants, and taking inventory of their position and progress one by one in this way.

While I was watering, I noticed a few interesting things that had happened over the last little while. The leaf miners had again colonized my columbines. They do this every year and it doesn't bother me in the least. I like to watch their slow-moving paths through the leaves and see their progress from tiny green nymph to fat burgeonous larvae. By the end of their stay in the columbine leaves you can make out a little black head. I'm not calling them cute or anything, but I don't see any point in not sharing the crop of columbine leaves with them.

Another interesting insect visitor that comes every year is the aphid, also known as the greenfly or plant louse. Wherever aphids colonize, entire communities of insects gather. Their sugary excretions attract ants, who move them from place to place and lick this syrup off them. This relationship has often been compared to that of the cow and cattleman. Like the cattleman, the ants defend their herd from predators.

There are quite a few native insects who prey on aphids. One is the aphid midge, a small red or orange worm that plucks fat aphids from where they sit and proceeds to suck them dry, usually starting at the butt end. What a way to go! And very interesting to observe.

Another aphid predator, the aphidius wasp, looks like a tiny fruit fly or no-see-um. I've only seen one once, and only identified it because of what it was doing to an aphid. What they do is they land on the aphid and lay eggs into it. Over a few days or so, depending on the temperature, the aphid slowly dies and turns golden brown. This is called mummification. The eggs inside mature and hatch, and when they are ready to come out, they bore a perfectly round hole in the rear of the mummified aphid and begin the cycle over again. I've never actually seen the baby come out, so I'm not sure if it is a full grown adult with wings, or perhaps a worm, or maybe something in between. Either way, these insects are very interesting to observe and tend to keep a small population of aphids under control.

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