Nice! Looking for mites and aphids..

Very cute lil thing! Lol. I probably would do the same thing as you Laura. Bring out the flashlight.
Chuy

You are sick Laura, but that is nothing new. We all seem to be. I think finding an inflo on a plant that has never bloomed before gives you weeks of anticipation. The other one is seeing several dozen inflos on a mature plant when you realize it is going off soon. Out here, we dread the May gray and June gloom that can stall blooming until July. The delay is maddening. Say hi to your patient and keep checking. :-) Bill

Darling.....mantid? ???

how cool Laura. You did a great job spotting that little guy.

Mike

I want one!!! Lucky you Laura!!! He will be one busy, fat little protector soon - maybe he's got friends! Good find.

I need to learn more about which are the good guys and which are the bad ones...

I don't have enough active protectors yet (where are my lizards?!) and I kept seeing sap spots on my plants so last night everyone got sprayed with spinosad when the sun was going down. They are just getting leaves due to this crazy weather, I am not letting the bad guys get too far ahead of me!

Great photo Laura! Is is a Mantis? I didn't even know they were that small. A baby?

Baby mantises are Ssssoooooo cute! May it grow to a big one and eat lots of garden pests!

Sometimes they're sooo hard to spot:

.... and sometimes they just JUMP out at you!

Just for grins:
{{gwi:97814}}

Al

Soooo Cute Laura! Hope he keeps your plants bug free. Oh wait! You want seeds don't you?
Al - love the mantises ! And whats that little fuzzy guy wearing the flowers? Cute! Peg

Hello Everyone!!!

Thanks Del.. I hope he/she likes all of the little critters to eat!! Maybe the mite problem will be less of an issue..

Hi Chuy!! I know you have a flashlight and i'm sure you will be using it soon!!! LOL!!! ;-) You will have to confess when you take the light outside just to check on the trees!!!
Deal? LOL!!!

Hi Bill.. I know.. it is bad. Only people like us can really understand right? LOL... That feeling of discovering an inflo after waiting for so long is such a joy. I hope the May and June gloom will be short lived for you all.. I know it is frustrating to wait for the burn off... I will keep checking and going outside at night... The "Patient" thinks i am nuts!!
He just rolls the eyes and i just keep on trucking... I did a test on the greenhouse this winter with limited trees inside. He asked the other day if i had the heat on all winter. I said yes, but i didnt tell him how many trees i had inside.. ;-) I had to check with a few Noids.. You all understand, right?

I will tell him hello.. Tks!!

Have a great night!!

Desa... Thanks.. I am sorry, i thought i mentioned about it being a Praying Mantis!! Yes.. it is. I had a few last year too! Some have huge protectors and we had a wonderful thread showing all of the big boys.. Al looks like he has a few huge boys there!! Who HOO!

Hi Mike!!! I did see this little guy and i was surprised myself. You should have seen me with the flashlight and the camera in the other hand.. I know i was a sight to see. The neighbors are probably talking about me.. LMAO!! i use my reading glasses to find this little guy!! He is sooo small!! Thanks, as always!!!

Hi Emily!!! It is hard to spot the good guys.. also easy to spot the bad ones!! ;-)

I hope he stays around to keep the critters aways.. I lost my little frog last year. I hope he comes around again and keep those critters off of the bottom leaves. He stayed on the top of the containers and just starred at the trees waiting for something to crawl out for a tasty little treat. Makes me wonder what they are eating.. (frogs.. that is) I hope this Mantis does get large and stays around for me to enjoy!!! Hope you have your lizard return for you!!!

Have a wonderful night, Emily!!

Hi P.. He is a little baby.. so small and i had to do a double take when i first spotted him!!! I did see something, so i had to go and get my glasses ;-) He was there again this morning, but we have had rain all day. I hope he stays!!! Night!!!

Thanks Disney... I hope he gets his belly full of the little pest!!! Ii am sure you have them out your way? Simi has posted some really nice size Mantis last year. I am sure they are around.. Thank You!!

Hi AL!!! Those are so big!!! I had a hard time seeing the Mantis in the first pic. he blends in so well even having a stripe matching the tree. Great pics!! I love the cute little furry critter.. so sweet!!!! Thanks for adding to the "Protector" thread.. i hope others will add their garden protectors too!

Last year i had my toad.. I did go by the pond yesterday and something jumped in when i walked by.. maybe somone else decided to take up residency in the pond.. Maybe i will get lucky and he will find my trees and have a feast!! Thanks for posting!! ;)

Hi Peg.. LOL.. seeds? I still have pods from last year..
Didn't we dicuss this? LOL... They should be opening soon. Loved lunch today!!! ;-)

Anyone that wants seeds, i will be giving them away when they open. I have pods from Psycho. ( 3 large pods) 1 pod from Wizard, one from Leela and one pod from "possible Vera Verde"

I will post when they are ready!!!

Thanks everyone!! Love my Protector!! ;-)

Laura

I will take a few seeds when they are ready.

Mindy

Laura - that is just the cutest little thing I've ever seen! :)

It's been a rather emotional day for me so I get a little bit teary eyed thinking how lucky we here at this forum are that we are able to grow these beautiful trees. I really do enjoy all of mine and love all the care and nurturing that goes along with them but when I see you, and a few others, that are so very passionate, it makes me just a little envious to feel that also.

*big hugs for ya!*

Awwww, Mona!

You are so sweet.. This is why we all love these trees and the people who love nature. We are special people that make others wonder why we see different beauty in things. Thank goodness we can take the time to enjoy the " little things in life..." We don' t take nature and animals for granted...

Thank you for the kind message and I also get sentimental about things too! I can think of many wonderful experiences that move me... Beauty is in the eye...

YOU have a wonderful night, and keep up the great work on your beautiful trees!

Thank you for all that you do.. You have added so much to these forums, so I will say " Mahalo" to YOU!

Mindy... No problem.. I will let you know when they are ready! ;-)

Goodnight ,

Laura

Just spotted two more... LOL!!

LJ

Lol. That flashlight is gonna run out of batteries!! ;)

Chuy

Laura: My oh my isn't that grand?! How wonderful being blessed with mantids! They are the supreme Protectors. & Al is correct, they're very hard to spot at times but when they feel like letting you see them they practically JUMP out at you LOL ;). Btw, cute pics Al. Thx for sharing!

For anyone looking for info on the beneficials: http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/NE/index.html

For a pest identifier:
http://www.organicgardeninfo.com/insectipedia.html#volad

I have 2 particular toads that visit my plants during the summer with the one preferring to hang out in my Plumie pot. Hope they come around again this year. I adore toads! My other protectors are spiders, assassin bugs, mantids, parasitic wasps, ladybugs & lacewings (woo Lawdy do we have a mess of those), not to mention our 2 mockingbirds Baby & Pretty Girl who we helped raise 10 yrs ago.

Love to all ~ Angharand :)(:

{{gwi:20801}}

Green lacewing eggs on a ficus bonsai. Didn't prune the leaf back until the eggs hatched.

Al

Lucky you, Al ;)! That's some sweet collection of eggs.

Btw, my Plumies are THRIVING in the gritty mix!

Hello Everyone!!!

Chuy... ;-). I have to check my batteries, quite often!!!! HA!!!

Some even have headlamps.. I know a few in VA and some in FL!!!

Hello Angharand !!! So nice to see you!!!! I also love these cute little guys, just wish I had more protectors around like you! My frog from last year only stayed around for a month, then he vanished. Just the other day, I was walking by my pond and I heard a " splash". Hopefully, I have a new little man growing to take the place of the other " Prince..." you are so lucky to have Mockingbirds.. That is awesome!! I plan to get those pics to you soon..I am out on a four day trip, so when I get home I will post!!!

Always a pleasure to see you!!! I hope you have the boat ready for the summer!! I bet it is beautiful up there on the Sound. ;-)

HI Al!!!

Beautiful picture!!! I have never seen eggs like that!! They remind me of rainwater dripping down from the leaf!! How beautiful !!!

I need to inspect my trees more closely for others little guys that I might have missed!!! Thanks for adding to the thread!!! ;-)

Have a great night!

Mahalo!

Laura

The reason the lacewing eggs are on stalks like that is to keep the hatching larva from cannibalizing the others when they hatch.

Al, your mantis pictures are beautiful! The green, pink and white coloration makes a lovely picture. He sure is a strong looking defender!

Hi Del!!

That is so interesting!! Thanks for that info!
Mother Nature sure knows what she is doing !
;-)

Laura

Look at my plumie protector, he is hard at work protecting my plumies. I think I am going to fire lover boy.

Hey George, looks like your protector is having a bit of extracurricular fun while on protection duty. LOL

Lol... I would say that he is not paying attention to your Plumies at all...

Thanks for the great pic!

Laura

Lol. Too funny Laura!!

Chuy

So this a prerequisite to be a good gardener; one must love bugs and such? Lol. Although I must say he is kinda cute!

George, lover boy and his lady are cute also. But if he kept doing that while on duty you might have to have a talk with him!

Everyone is always laughing at me for being scared of crawlers and what not. Just two weeks ago we were at a nursery and a giant worm crawled right next to my foot, it was about 12 inches long! I jumped higher than Michael Jordan and sprinted faster than Usain Bolt! Then today as I was replanting a camellia I found at least four worms! I was not expecting any considering the fact we just added compost a week ago. What a wimp right?

Al,

Everytime I see that little hamster on the flowers laughing I cant stop smiling. Makes my day.

Well this is their mating season; not much you can do. All lover boy does is chase ladies around. He is the biggest male and fights off all the younger ones.