meals fit for a bug

Sad looking rose bush - 7/12/07

The massive quantities of rain that we received for six to eight weeks provided the perfect environment for a bug and critter explosion. About nine days ago, we came home from summer school only to find that *two* of my rose bushes had been utterly devoured by bagworms in less than two days. Since we've lived in this home we have not seen this large of a population of bugs and moths in our yard.

One of hundreds of bag worms that 12 yo "Lego-boy" and I pulled from the bushes.



14 yo Audubon had seen some of the damage when he had mowed, but didn't think it was a big enough deal to tell us that something seemed amiss with the bushes. Each morning, I go out and look for more. They began to make their way over to our crepe myrtles that are very close to these bushes. We let the kids burn a bowlful of them the second or third day of picking them off. They are very healthy critters. This morning, I only found about seven of them, and they were all very small. I think we've successfully dealt with these vermin.

We also have a bazillion little *midges* or flying little things on our Rose of Sharon bush, and it looks as if it could use a good washing. I'll let these little gals handle most of it, though:


And these fellows:

Munching on the aphids on our sunflowers


There are four or five geckos that we normally see...they are quick! They are also huge (four inches or so) since we find them camping outside our door at night just feasting on the little bugs that are attracted to the porch light.


This is the only photo taken on my smaller digital Kodak Z710 with Schneider lens. This was before I got my Cannon.