Are these bugs good or bad???

11 years ago

I found these bugs on my coneflowers. They are always in pairs on the underside of leaves or on top of the leaves close to the stem. I'm just wondering if they are a good bug or a pest i need to get rid of.

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Comments (5)

rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
11 years ago
Twice-stabbed stink bug, Cosmopepla bimaculata. They are primarily seed eaters, but that can mean beans, echinacea, and anything in between. If you're finding a lot of them, you may want to carry a little container of soapy water around with you and knock them into it while they're preoccupied with mating.
melodyteichroeb thanked rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
11 years ago
until you find damage ... no bug is bad ...

ken
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rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
11 years ago
What about scale insects, ken? Or aphids? Or many of the stink bugs? I couldn't count the number of times we've had people come here with nearly dead plants that were covered up with scale allowed to grow out of any hope of control.

The damage from some insects is simply not readily obvious, but those insects are "bad", nonetheless.

Melody has the kind of attitude we love to see! She was observant, went searching for an ID, and was clearly going to base her actions on the identification.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
11 years ago
What about scale insects, ken? Or aphids? Or many of the stink bugs?

==>>> come on rhiz ... you dont spray for all those.. UNTIL YOU FIND THEM DOING SOME DAMAGE...

how simple.. eh???

these two are just having a good time.. lol ... they dont need to die... yet anyway ... lol

BUT!!! ... now that she found them.. and IDd them ... then perhaps there is a reason to be proactive... as you note.. once IDd .. we can predict the damage.. if any ..

i just get the drift that too many newbs... think all bugs must be slaughtered ... for fear of future damage ... spraying willy nilly .. etc ..

i once heard.. maybe at master gardener class decades ago .. that as a group.. homeowners use much more pesticides.. than farmers ... and usually not as safely .. nor as minimally.. nor a specific to the threat.. as the pros do ...

OP is on the right track../ keep up the search for knowledge ... that is the key ..... we will just argue amongst you all .. lol ...

ken
jean001a
11 years ago
Ken,
what you heard long ago about excessive & sloppy pesticide use by home gardeners is absolutely correct.

One thing you didn't mention is home gardeners often tell you that "I used everything I had, but nothing worked."
The reasons for that is they either sprayed at the wrong time or they used the wrong material. And that's true for whatever they used, commercially packaged products or homemade concoctions.