September 20, 2010

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

My son and I went for a short walk through the garden.  He had the brilliant idea to hunt down a ladybug to relocate to the aphid infested butterfly weed.  (See "Yippee" post).   We headed over to the Japanese Yew where we had seen them recently.  No ladybugs in sight but this praying mantis was holding court instead. 


The good...


The bad...

As we continued, we came upon this grasshopper katydid...there were actually two of them (grumble) on the fronds of the Sago Palm.  Then we saw a small green anole.  You know how much I love those guys!  (See "Just A Glimpse" post).   He was just a little thing - no where near full grown.  He was quietly stalking the grasshoppper katydid which was nearly the same size as him. He lunged to catch it and barely missed!  DARN!  But I have faith that they are helping to keep the grasshopper katydid population under control.



And the ugly...

Several of these guys have been flying around (more like a somewhat controlled fall - they aren't very graceful) the garden lately.  I'm not sure what roll they play but they are definitely ferocious looking!

Delightful moments spent with a teenage boy.  I love how the observance of nature has the ability to bring us  together.  No need for expensive gadgets or even words - just a moment shared.  We never did find any ladybugs...maybe next time.

4 comments:

  1. Maybe the good will catch up with the bad and scare away the ugly...Nice pictures.

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  2. I think your grasshopper may be a katydid? Shoot, I can't remember what that metallic green beetle is called, but ESP (East Side Patch) recently included them in a post, along with an ID.

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  3. Yes Pam, I think you're right about the katydid. I looked him up in my daughter's insect book last night. I'm not very good at identifying insects so help id'ing them is appreciated! I'll check out the ESP post.

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