I love it! Super cool post. I am pretty new here and I am already beginning to share your sentiment.

Lately I've been appreciating some hard working eight legged friends (which I always squashed before I started growing and learning) and these beauties are doing some great cleaning for me as well.

Cheers!
dj

That's awesome to have an ecosystem like that on your balcony that keeps ladybugs and larvae around. Where I live in PA you would think abundance of bugs, we barely get mosquitos. The builders stripped all topsoil and sold it when they built our neighborhood, it's bad, I don't even get aphids. Mites are around but so far only the good guys. Keep us updated with lots of pics and great job on having a garden in DC.

Mark

What a wonderful sentiment, Alison. Thanks for the thanks.

Mother Nature is so much more fun when you work with her than against her. She's actually quite beautiful.

Dennis

DJ,
That's a stunning pic! What did you take it with?

Mark,
I had no bugs here the first few years and then only bad ones. It has taken a while.

I have a cool photo of a dragon fly on one of my peppers as well. They are such great insects. Fun to watch and they eat a lot of the insects that give "bugs" a bad name.
Bruce

Bruce, that is a stunning pic. Again I ask what are you both using to take them? You've seen my "nature" pics. I zoom on my i phone and they are all fuzzy.

Here is the photo info for the above picture. 99.9% of the time, I use my camera on "AUTO" setting.
Bruce

This post was edited by esox07 on Wed, Jun 18, 14 at 1:04

Alynne, I took the damselfly pic with a Canon 60d from about four feet away... 135 mm, f5.6, 1/1000 exposure and some minor adjustments in adobe cs6.

Here is one a got of a prehistoric looking dragonfly. This thing was right around three inches long and my forehead got within inches of it before I even noticed. Almost had to change my shorts.

Sweet dreams,
dj

DJ, that looks like something from a Disney movie. Wonderful! I tend to just grab my iPhone. Have a digital camera here somewhere that is about 8 years old. Need to learn more about what the iPhone camera can offer.

Very Nice.
This year is my first season getting serous about chilis. In the past I have had grown limited few varieties but this year I am growing close to 15 varieties from mild to wild and hot.
I am also indebted to the help and advice that I have gotten from the very giving and knowledgeable members who hang out in this forum. And I am still learning. I am not quite a certified chili head yet but I am getting there slowly but surely : D)

Yes, in the three or four years I have been on this list, I have learned soooo much. One of the few lists that has little dissension among its members. Members are tolerant and always willing to help others, especially new members. Many of those new members wind up sticking around themselves after finding out what a great resource the list is. Thanks to each and every member. you all make my pepper growing that much more enjoyable.
Bruce

I put the low dissension phenomenon down to large quantities of endorphins.

That's right: natural mellowing agents induced by weaponized fruit.

Like I keep telling everyone, peppers are good for you. Eat up and end war forever!

Dennis

The first of my chills has gotten the aphids. It has also gotten an abundance of Lady Bug larvae. Love it!

I took a walk earlier today and saw some weird, unattractive bugs and didn't know what they were. I even took some pictures because I thought they were so unusual. Then I clicked this thread and see the same bug in the original post. Had no idea those were ladybug larvae.

Those are cool dragonflies and photos you guys posted.

I included a few decent shots I got of a dragonfly one time (not on plants of mine though, just out and about). These were just taken with a Canon SD1100 IS (nothing special, and pretty dated now even for a point and shoot), but it has macro mode, which might be what you're missing on the phone @alynne.

I threw in a bonus shot of a newt from the same day and place.

This post was edited by whatever6441 on Tue, Jun 24, 14 at 20:55

Here's another one from last year.
Tree Frog on my pepper plant:
Bruce

Wow, I don't think I've seen a frog like that around here (New England).