spiders

Scary Bugs (And Why You Shouldn’t Be Afraid)

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Eek! It’s a bug!

I know most folks don’t like creepy-crawlies. Bugs aren’t their thing. Mine, yes, but this is what I do – help people deal with garden pests and protect good bugs.

Some good guys do look scary, like something out of a sci-fi movie with spikes and fangs and ridges and crazy colors.   

But looks aren’t everything. In most cases, these are good bugs – what we call beneficial insects – that help to control the few bad dudes in your garden.  

Let me introduce you to a few bug friends that aren’t beauties but do a beautiful job of controlling harmful pests.  

Assassin bugs get a bad rap simply because of their name. We’re talking James Bond, right?  

an assassin bug is a cloudy-gray color with a hump on its back
Scary-looking assassin bugs are efficient predators. Photo: Photo: Johnny N. Dell, Bugwood.org 

That’s a good thing. Assassin bugs are efficient predators, but boy, do they look scary. Battleship grey with spikes down their backs, they look like they’re wearing armor.  

But the battle is mostly one-sided. Insects that cross an assassin bug’s path likely will get skewered by its lance-like mouthpart and slurped dry.  

Stop shuddering. There’s an upside. 

Assassin bugs eat almost any bug, making them ecological balancers that keep insect populations in check. Plus, they enjoy snacking on Japanese beetles, the scourge of many a garden.

Cute and beneficial, the ladybug lies at the other end of the beauty spectrum. But as youngsters, ladybugs resemble tiny orange and black alligators which often get squished because they look like they are Up To No Good.  

a lady bug larva is black and organge and resembles a miniature alligator
Spiky ladybug larvae control aphids and other pests. Photo: Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org

Not true. These are good guys who consume even more aphids, spider mites, scales, and other baddies than adult ladybugs. In fact, one ladybug can eat over 5,000 aphids in its lifetime. 

Many juvenile insects look nothing like their more familiar adult counterparts. So stop before you squish or spray. Snap a photo or bring a sample to your local Extension office. Most likely it’s an ally you want to protect.  

You can find your Maryland Extension office on our website. Or reach out to the certified horticulturists at our Home & Garden Information Center for help. Send a photo or question to them at Ask Extension.

Wasps get a bad rap, too, with much swatting and shrieking and fear of The Stinger. Only females have those – they’re modified egg-laying organs – and they aren’t likely to use them unless threatened.  

But most wasps are beneficial, preying on bad bugs or laying their eggs on them to feed their young. Plus, they are pollinators, protecting 1 in 3 bites of food we eat. 

a wasp visiting a white-flowering plant
Scoliid wasps lay their eggs on Japanese beetle larva. Photo: Shanon Wolf

Spiders aren’t insects – they have 8 legs, not 6 – but they give many people the willies. But spiders also are beneficial, quietly and efficiently consuming many harmful insects.  

a black and yellow garden spider in its web
Argiope spiders provide free pest control in the garden. Photo: Heather Lawhead

Beauty isn’t everything. An army of not-so-lovely-but-useful insects are your allies in the garden, protecting your plants from the 1 in 10 bugs that are actually harmful. 

So think before you squish or spray. Get us a photo or sample. We’ll identify it and give you management tips that deal swiftly with bad bugs while protecting beneficial insects. 

By Annette Cormany, Principal Agent Associate and Master Gardener Coordinator, Washington County, University of Maryland Extension.

This article was previously published by Herald-Mail Media. Read more by Annette.

Let Spiders Help in Your Vegetable Garden

Maryland Grows3 Comments

A few years ago during the early spring, my brother, mother, and I noticed several quarter-sized, brownish-colored egg cases in our high tunnel. Our research taught us they were gifts from black and yellow garden spiders, Argiope aurantia. These spiders are also called yellow garden orb-weavers, writing spiders, or zipper spiders. This made sense, as the tomato vines are trellised to 8 feet high and provide the perfect environment for these magnificent arachnids to spin large circular webs, high off the ground, which contain a highly visible, zig-zag pattern in the center that is called a stabilimentum.  

garden spider egg cases
Four black and yellow garden spider egg masses in the back of the high tunnel frame were laid in the fall of 2019. The spider webbing provides protection from predators. Each egg case contains hundreds of baby spiders. Photo: Ashley Bodkins

We assumed that the eggs had hatched the previous fall and opted to not bother them and go about cleaning up and preparing for the new growing season. Little did we know, each egg case contained hundreds of baby spiders just waiting to make their escape, which happened later that spring and left our high tunnel completely overrun with spiders! 

Fortunately, these black and yellow garden spiders are beneficial in a vegetable garden. Spiders prey on all kinds of insects including flies, cucumber beetles, brown marmorated stink bugs, and sometimes even butterflies. Black and yellow garden spiders are not aggressive towards people — although, that does not mean they are not a bit intimidating, especially when you run your face smack dab into the beautiful web while picking tomatoes! 

Orb-weaver spiders spend their days sitting in their perfectly shaped webs, or nearby on the ground, waiting to catch an unassuming insect, which is immobilized, killed, and wrapped in silk to be consumed later. They are most active in the cover of the night and are great additions to your garden!

garden spider web
A black and yellow garden spider makes an orb web about a meter wide. The zigzag silk in the center is called the stabilimentum. Photo: David Cappaert, Bugwood.org

Webs will begin showing up in mid-summer and remain until the first frost. In our high tunnel, they are protected from most of the wind and rain that could normally damage a web. In your yard and garden, look for egg masses in secluded areas that you don’t visit very often, usually located several inches off the ground, maybe camouflaged with tall grass, at the edge of a woods line, or perhaps under bucket rims or plant containers.

spider egg cases in dried grass
Black and yellow garden spider egg mass from the fall of 2019 camouflaged in tall grass. Photo: Ashley Bodkins

As you begin cleaning up your yard or garden this spring, be on the lookout for egg masses of all types and in particular these amazing black and yellow garden spider egg cases. Be forewarned, there are probably hundreds of spiders just waiting to make their exit. From my experience, wherever the spiderlings exit they will live for the next 1-2 years. If you don’t want them in the area where they are located, gently pick up the egg case and move it to an area where they can thrive. 

garden spider is a predatory insect

Embrace the beautiful cycle of life and be ready to capture pictures of some beautiful spiders in your garden this year. All types of spiders are predators and considered beneficial in the garden! Check out more information on spiders on the Home & Garden Information Center website.

This year the University of Maryland Extension Master Gardener Grow It Eat It program is celebrating the little creatures that help us grow what we like to eat! Whether they are pollinating our plants or devouring pests, we couldn’t grow much to eat without the help of beneficial insects and arthropods.

By Ashley Bodkins, Senior Agent Associate and Master Gardener Coordinator, Garrett County, Maryland, University of Maryland Extension