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Insects: Friends & Foes

What is your favorite insect, and why?

I love those little "Roly poly" bugs, also called sow bugs or pill bugs. The are so cute, with all their little legs, and then they roll up in a ball if you touch them. Cool little guys. I wonder what purpose they actually serve -- I have no idea if they are harmful or helpful.

And butterflies -- too pretty for words -- but their caterpillars can be very damaging to crops and gardens.

Foes and Friends Insects

Just wait till you get them under your book cases and beds and they are dead and dying!! Pew, they stink. Or have your cats eat a couple and upchuck them Yuck!
I used to play with them when I was little, make them roll up then 'ping' them across the side walk like they were marbles. **I was a little monster doing that wasn't I!**

I found this on them, from this site: https://www.pestcontrolcanada.com/sow_bugs.htm

This site has some good information on other bugs too.
My favorite bug is the Lady bug. 'She' is beautiful and beneficial and she doesn't bite or sting!!! To me that is a big plus.

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Here's a little info about mosquitoes from the Weather Channel:

https://www.weather.com/partnerships/mosquito/

Why do mosquitoes bite us?

Female mosquitoes, no-see-ums, and other biting insects bite us because they need protein from our blood to produce their eggs.

Male mosquitoes feed on nectar and don't seek blood.

How do mosquitoes find us?

From a distance, the carbon dioxide (CO2) we exhale acts as a long-range attractant to help mosquitoes find us. While carbon dioxide is present in the atmosphere at all times, places where people or animals gather is attractive to mosquitoes because the levels of carbon dioxide are higher than normal.

Why are some people bitten more than others?

Once the mosquitoes find a group of people, they use short-range attractants, scents emitted from the skin; to determine which person they are going to bite. Research shows that mosquitoes like some scents better than others.

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There is also a chart with links about different types of mosquitoes. Very interesting stuff! Since we now have a lake (reservoir) in our area, we have a much larger mosquito population

Foes and Friends Insects

I can t' say that I really like any bugs. I suppose butterflies are pretty, especially the Monarch. So are lady bugs. I used to like them as a kid, but they can be pests as well. A few years ago we had a major problem with lady bugs in the area I lived. For some reason there was an extremely large number of them that year. They were everywhere. After a while that is not so fun.

Foes and Friends Insects

Bugs...yuck! I cannot stand them and I don't have any favourite!!! I cannot stand bugs or insects, no matter how cute they may look. I hate ants (red ones, or the ones that bite really hard) and roaches! I cannot stand roaches! if I see one, I start scratching all over my body!

Insects: Friends & Foes

We have a plethora of insect life here in Florida. Of course we have mosquitos. They're the unofficial state bird. Then there's these huge honkin' critters in the roach family called Palmetto Bugs. They grow up to 2" long and one of things they like to eat is the glue from envelopes and postage stamps- seriously!

Florida is rife with spiders, too. One in particular, the Banana Spider really freaks me out simply becuase if its' size. I've seen them as large as an adult's hand!

Insects Friends & Foes

Like Agene, I too like the Lady Bug, until they start swarming into the house. They are very pretty to look at and do not really pose a threat to us (at least not one I am aware of). Most other bugs I do not like at all.

Insects Friends & Foes Sciences Education Art Writing & UFO

I think you all are referring to the orange and black Asian Lady bug. We had them by the billions for several years. They won't hurt your plants, gardens, your house or you. Though some people are allergic to them. Here is a link that answers quite a few questions about them: https://www.ipm.msu.edu/beetleFAQ.htm#7 .

I would vacuum them up and then take the bag up into the woods and turn them loose. I gave up trying to *save* the ones in my shed though. There was just too many of them, and I got tired of vacuuming and dumping every day for weeks.