Owl Moths, Hawk Moths.. giants

[JMNYC]

Originally Posted by Dante1709

I got that number from Wikipedia, but other than that, I've picked up that information by doing research for Yahoo! Answers questions ; I used to be the 10th top answered in the zoology section, until my account stopped working. Although I do like biology, entomology is very heavy, considering there are so many species of insects. I'd rather say learning, than call it studying.

Fascinating!!!!! I am grateful you are among us!!!!!
_______________________________
Edit: Dante! You absolutely must see this docu! I now have it on DVD. You can see it free here:

Spirits of the Rainforest | Watch Documentaries Online | Promote Documentary Film

Transporting, illuminating, enchanting...and an actual paradigm of how we were meant to live...primitive my butt.

Spirits of the Rain Forest; if you miss it, it will be a veritable crime.

[Brooke]

Originally Posted by JMNYC

Not ANYWHERE in proximity to ME!!!!!

Actually what I was sayin is, I am grateful people moved to study entomology exist.

I know full well all miraculous species are perfectly evolved, humbling members of the food chain and invaluable, but I am not a perfect human, so some just give me nitemares.

I have no insects on any plants including my giant houseplants, I know what to watch for.....BUT, once I took a large orchid to the sink to tend it, a catt; turned on the water to drench it and the most terrifying, primitive looking creature ran up from the tree fern, and at warp speed! I screamed at the top of my lungs. I went online and found out it was an Earwig. O M G.

Discovering nasty critters should never be a problem for you unless you can have a g/h in Manhattan If you do get lucky, the critters aren't shy about visiting you.

Brooke

[JMNYC]

Originally Posted by Brooke

Discovering nasty critters should never be a problem for you unless you can have a g/h in Manhattan If you do get lucky, the critters aren't shy about visiting you.

Brooke

I know, if you get it, and in perspective, everything has both an upside and a downside. Growing indoors with no augmentation has both!

One of the upsides is, I truly do not get "visited," with some notable exceptions.

I also cherish living inside a kind of ad hoc jungle populated by all these splendid plants, not just my orchids! Each specimen grows exactly where it needs to to thrive.

I don't much think about the downsides, I feel very blessed re what I have and can manage.
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Edit! Wait! I was wrong, I did once find an earwing, but the terrifying creature in question, it ran up outta the pot like the WIND.....was a horned beetle! And, it was HUGE. AND WICKED SCARY!

See the middle row, the first one on the left!

HORNED BEETLES: Nature's Six-Legged Knights in Armor

[RJSquirrel]

Ive never seen a full grown caterpillar like that. I squish em before they start to scare me about half that size

I usually don't squich the moths. They got too much juice and I don't like to get it on me none a all.

Ill run them off But I leave the squishing to some other critter that finds them tastier than I would.

I feel its an honor the creatures pay when they come to visit your greenhouse. You don't see these actually very much anymore and you will see them less and less as the areas around their homes become suburban landscaping. So its kind of neet to know they will come if you meet their needs.
I get some visitors I really don't like take for example the Red and Black wasps. They work the orchid flowers over for the sugar. But they leave eggs as some don't build nests. I don't know if they sting but I cut them in half if I can get close enuff to them with some scissors

[JMNYC]

Originally Posted by RJSquirrel

Ive never seen a full grown caterpillar like that. I squish em before they start to scare me about half that size

I usually don't squich the moths. They got too much juice and I don't like to get it on me none a all.

Ill run them off But I leave the squishing to some other critter that finds them tastier than I would.

I feel its an honor the creatures pay when they come to visit your greenhouse. You don't see these actually very much anymore and you will see them less and less as the areas around their homes become suburban landscaping. So its kind of neet to know they will come if you meet their needs.
I get some visitors I really don't like take for example the Red and Black wasps. They work the orchid flowers over for the sugar. But they leave eggs as some don't build nests. I don't know if they sting but I cut them in half if I can get close enuff to them with some scissors

OMG I don feel good! Please do not say the word 'squished."

I will say, while I am humbled by all life forms and their respective brilliance, I am also very creeped out by some lady wasps who dig a 5" deep hole in the sand, lay a single egg and then find and paralyze a fly and drag it into the hole for when her child hatches.....to feast on.

[RJSquirrel]

I was also kind of curious if these moths go for the night scented flowers like the brassavolas? bec I have found some of the flowers curled up in the morning like one that had been pollinated. I don't know if the orchid flowers just happen to be in the path of chance or the moth sought them out by the scent?????

[Orchidgirl83]

It could be they were after night scented orchids. My Mom grew moon flowers; I do not know what their actual name is, they are huge, white fabulously scented flowers; and we had a huge number of those sphinx moths all over those flowers.

[RJSquirrel]

ah I looked up moon flowers and people grow them just to attract the large hawk moths ...must have been seeking the scent of the orchid in order to find it inside buried in the back of the greenhouse....

I might have to plant some moon flowers to keep em moths off me rkids arghhh

[SydneyH]

I grew moon flowers one summer. Every evening when the flowers opened up, Hummingbird Hawk Moths would come to visit the flowers. They look a lot like hummingbirds too.

Sydney

[kindrag23]

These buggers lay eggs in my hibiscus each year. Their larvea look like grub worms on steroids! And u wanna know what a screaming hissy fit looks like it was me when one of those latched onto my hand when I was repotting!!! Their only saving grace is my plant does not seem to mind them no health or negative issues from them!

I was told they are agave moths.