Pests

Here are some pests I recently found in my garden.

I found Nettle Caterpillars in my Surinam Cherry trees. When I brushed up against one of the branches, I experienced a horrible pain. At first I thought a snake bit me, but I did not find any fang marks. Then I suspected a bee sting, but did not find a stinger. To figure out what it was I started looking through the branches and got stung again on my hand. Wow! The pain was immediate and acute, but it did go away about 10 minutes later. I spent the whole afternoon carefully removing them. Terrible little creatures.

My Lizard buddies are not pests, but rather beneficial. They eat the ants that are everywhere, so I do not bother them.

This is a bark Beatle. I find them primarily on my citrus trees. Both they and their larva are extremely destructive. Bark Beatles destroy the bark and the larva drill inside the tree and make their way to the root system where they eat the roots as they mature. Eventually the tree will die. Finding them early is the best prevention.

Damage caused by a Bark Beatle.

This is a horn worm. They are veracious eaters and love citrus tree and sweet potato leaves. When they are smaller they are brown and yellow, and easy to find; however, as they mature they turn green and very difficult to find. I check my plants everyday and look for droppings. 

Small Horn Worm.