Could they be June bugs?

Josh

possible but if they r or are related to them they r the biggest i have ever seen these are 1 1/2 inches long and 3/4 of an inch wide, they r like little bombers, buzzing all around the back yard dozens of them it is very distressing!

we got those in SD last year. they are blind hence why they just seem to bounce off things! i am not too sure if they damage plants as i have seen any around any plants before, i always just see them flying around!

Eric

they are only really active during the heat of the day, I have seen them flying in and around the chile patches and the containers, but since they are in the back yard and so r the chiles, squash, bells,watermelons, grean beans, etc.
and they just seem to fly around aimlessly, I cant be sure if they are attacking my plants or not, there are several chewed leaves, but all outside plants get some of those, especially here in the south, insects are a way of life, unfortunately, however these are a new one on me

I would take a wait and see position. It should be evident soon if they are actually causing damage-if not you don't need to do anything.

Might be a stinkbug aka sqashbug. But whatever it is, bugs that look similar to those often eat crops. I wouldn't waste anytime, i'd get right to killing them.

In anticipation of a stinkbug onslaught this year, i heard about Acetamiprid in another forum. It isn't organic, but it's supposedly mild as far as pesticides go. So i went out and purchased a product that contains it: Ortho Max Flower Fruit and Vegetable. Turns out i didn't really need it for stinkbugs, but i caught a nice little aphid infestation earlier in the season. I must have caught them early because i haven't seen any sign of them in over three weeks. I follow-up sprayed a few times and plan to do so again.

It should work for most common pests that like to munch on leaves.

Click the link below to checkout the discussion topic i mentioned earlier.

Here is a link that might be useful: Stinkbug discussion

definately not stinkbugs, Ive been killing stinkbugs and squash bugs on my cucumbers and squash all spring, but those are about 1/4 the size of these and a very different shape, most pests I am familar with even though this is my first year growing anything other than houseplants and flowers, when I decided to start a huge garden this year, this being my first year gardening, I spent countless hours
absorbing hundreds of pages of gardening sites of one sort or another, which coincidently is how I found this sight, but in all that I have read and seen I have not experienced these monsters, for those of u in georgia or florida, they are the size of the giant roaches y'all call palmetto bugs!

catch one and take a picture!

this is the best picture that I could get today

I found it! the green beetle (continis nitida) mostly a problem for sweet fruits and berries on the east coast, the western cousin, known as the figeater is very similar for you west coasters. Apparently they probably wont do that much damage to the peppers, now the tomatoes are another story all together. I have not used a single pesticide, or weed killer of any kind in the garden and hopefully will be able to continue, I mean Im no granola cruncher, I just dont like the chance of harming beneficials and throwing the delicate ecosystem of my yard out of balance ;)

Hard to tell w. that picture, but does look like a june bug. Or a potato beetle on steroids LOL The ones we get In San Diego are Huuuge !! They have a metallic blue green and can get to 3 inches. The dive bomb you head, bounce and want more !! Bastids. The grubs can wreak serious havoc !!

A few years ago, we had a nice xeriscaped yard with plenty flowers, and they exploded in numbers. I remember the compost pile was full of em. Must have been a good spot for procreating.

They didn't seem to chew much, and seemed migratory after morhing to adult hood.

But if marauders start chewing, best have some netting/covers for the ready !!

Good luck

I am hoping I have found a chemical free option, apparently fuit farmers in the southeast have had great success building traps w/ old milk jugs filled a couple of inches w/ sweet fruit juices and sugar, im sure they work similar to japanese beetle traps have to wait and see I guess, problem is I dont know if I could get them to stay still long enough to spray it w/ chemical anyway, so it will be this or converting a tennis raquet to a beetle swatter ;)

If they were green they might be Green Fruit Beetles, which most years decimate my nectarines, but surprisingly I haven't seen any this year. They have orgies on the fruit, maybe four or five of them chowing down and having sex at the same time. I have fun swatting them in mid-air with a badminton racquet, trying to hit home runs by sending them flying over the back fence. They come in at about 40 feet above the ground looking for fruit, circle the tree a few times, and then pounce on the ripest, nicest fruit and ruin it. They have a black stripe with white dots on it around the lower part of their body. The green part shimmers like an emerald in the sun.

Paul. I cannot believe you have not had to use any insecticides. Must be nice. Just in case I sent a picture to my friend who is a entomologist at the University of Florida. Hopefully he can confirm.

well jamie, fortunately I have many ladybugs, lightning bugs, spiders and wasps, so I havent had too many problems,
lots of squash bugs and stink bugs, but I mostly just squash them by hand I had a problem in early spring w/ slugs, but i just made a bunch of beer traps w/ ccors light, and that seemed to control them, i dumped hundreds of them from the traps. I did however have to use SAFE insecticidal soap when they were seedlings, indoors for the aphids,I didnt worry so much about using something indoors, no beneficials to harm, it never occured to me @ that point that I could buy ladybugs. silly me huh, but i guess thats what being a newbie is all about. It is a continual learning process, but thanks to u guys, and the online reference library, I am light years ahead of where I ways just 3 months ago :)

I am supremely happy to report: I have eradicated the evil green menace, after I noticed many chewed leaves on the plants they visited most, It was GAME ON! with the help of some plum juice traps, and a prince XLT tennis raquet I have rid myself of the dozens upon dozens of fargin stinking bastages! also, manage to keep the gardens chemical free @ least for the time being! :)

Nice work! And the garden is safe for yet another day...

Funny. Tennis Racket was going to be my suggestion. Wiffle Ball bat if you like more of a challenge

I would think a badminton racket would be a more nimble and effective weapon. A close second would be the trusty 12 gauge.