friends of orchids

[DirtyCoconuts]

I know this is the pest section but i have been moving more and more of my plants out of the screened in safety of my patio and I am meeting more and more of the creepy crawlies that dwell on my other plants and i am finding that there are soldiers on both sides of the battlefield and i am not without allies in this war!!!

okay, enough fan fiction...…

i have noticed that spiders, NOT mites, anoles, geckos have been taking residence on, near or adjacent to all my orchids

Here is the small lychee tree under which keep Schoms and i spotted this character hiding out
Anole by J Solo, on Flickr

and here is the same guy from far away...sneaky sneaky
Anole by J Solo, on Flickr

I have also been watching a pair of ladybugs DESTROY an aphid colony on one of my milkweed bushes...they are voracious!!!

I have seen more bees around too, which is always good, here is a hard worker on a Penta
Anole by J Solo, on Flickr

and, of course....the Cuban croakers who serenade me half the year ( and just yell for fun the other half)….i have not seen them eat anything off the orchids but i assume they do
Tiny tree frog by J Solo, on Flickr

and an old image of a female croaker on the fern
Other plants by J Solo, on Flickr



what other beneficial insects and friends do you have in your gardens and yards?

[DirtyCoconuts]

i took this pic at home depot...i guess 'moth orchid' is a good name after all

Fred clarke by J Solo, on Flickr


do you see him? keep looking, you'll find him...sentry keeping the watchful eye
Plants...at night by J Solo, on Flickr

[WaterWitchin]

Batcave (a/k/a basement) Dwellers...







But I really want anoles!!

[DirtyCoconuts]

I wonder how well they take to being shipped lol!!

[WaterWitchin]

Originally Posted by DirtyCoconuts

I wonder how well they take to being shipped lol!!

I have a friend in Texas who I've been trying to convince for YEARS to send me a few. She refused. I think she just wants me to come visit.

Ummmm..... Kansas winter.... heat packs?

[DirtyCoconuts]

People send and ship reptiles all the time. I’ll look into it.

[ArronOB]

Leaf-tailed gecko. We used to have lots of these till we woke up one morning and found two huntsmen spider nests had hatched in the roof cavity and hundreds of spiderlings were pouring in through the wall vents. My wife called in the exterminators and now the geckos and skinks are gone. A tragedy. There were always a couple of geckos in my shadehouse - I expect they ate a lot of bugs.

I guess they will return one day.

Check out the detail in the eye.

[DirtyCoconuts]

That’s awful Aaron, I love the photo and i certainly wish you a swift return of your native guardians

[WaterWitchin]

Originally Posted by DirtyCoconuts

People send and ship reptiles all the time. I’ll look into it.

---------- Post added at 06:27 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:16 AM ----------

I had to look up huntsman spider. Oh Hellsno! Not only is that horrible, AaronOB... the poor geckos... but the hatching and pouring out the vents?!? Nope, nope, nope. Couldn't live through it, may not sleep well tonight.

Australia is such a beautiful country, but I'm not tough enough to live there.

[Dollythehun]

DC, on the third photo you show a pink flowering plants you called a "venta." It looks like a plant we northerners call "Pentas." Is this a misspelling on your part? Forgive me, someone told me to call this to your attention. 😁🤫😆 But, inquiring old gardening minds want to know.