Here is another instalment of
Nicole Keim’s bug of the week.
This week’s Bug of the Week is the Nabid. They are found
throughout the United States and commonly frequent gardens. Nabids are
sometimes referred to as damsel bugs, a name they earn from the “dainty” way
they hold their two front legs off of the ground. Though damsel bugs may look
formidable at first, they aren’t pests at all, but are actually beneficial to
your garden and fields, eating lots of other bugs that could harm your plants!
So next time one of these guys lands on your arm, don’t swat it; take a moment
to admire this elegant little garden helper and maybe gently transfer it to
your tomato bushes.
Damsel bugs have a very simple life cycle that only lasts
for about one year. In summer or late spring, females lay their eggs in or on
plants or inside crevices. The eggs hatch quickly into nymphs, which will feed
on other bugs like their parents do. The nymph will molt up to five times
before it transforms into an adult and will spend the winter as either a large
nymph or an adult. When the warms months return, it will emerge; continue
feeding on other bugs, and reproduce, continuing the life cycle.
Damsel bugs, or Nabids, are very easy to identify if found
on your flowers or vegetable plants. The adults are shaped like long ovals,
around ¼ to 3/8 inches long. They have translucent wings, front legs similar to
those of a praying mantis for grasping prey, and are always inconspicuously colored,
ranging from greens and yellows to browns and grays. Most of our local species
are a grey-brown color. Nymphs are the same shape as adults, but smaller, and
wingless. Damsel bugs can commonly be found on rosebushes and other plants that
attract aphids. This is because aphids are one of their favorite foods, along
with caterpillars, plant bugs, and spiders.
Borror, Donald J.,
Triplehorn, Charles A., Jonson, Norman F. “An Introduction to the Study of
Insects.” Sanders College Publishing, 1989, pg 300-301
Metcalf, C. L., Flint W. P. “Destructive and Useful
Insects.” Theirs Habits and Control, R.
L. Metcalf, McGraw Hill Book Company, 1962, pg 224-225
Borror, Donald J., White, Richard E. “Insects.” Peterson Field Guides, R. T. Peterson,
Houghton Mifflin Company, 1970, pg 120-121
Thanks Nicole
Blayne
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