Friday, September 18, 2009

Yellow Bug On Mustard Greens - Can You Identify It?

Now I know this bug may look normal, and may even look pretty common but it's not quite like the rest of it's gang that was surrounding it. I may be all overly excited because I just read about the boy in the UK who found a pink grasshopper - but this little yellow insect is the only one like it I have ever seen. Take a look at the bugs pictured below - they are very opaque with geometric shades of orange, black and white, they also appear to be the same exact species as the yellow guy - these bugs are considered pests to gardeners because they tend to eat most greens (mustard and turnip in my garden). They are not terriblely destructive, but they are there and for some reason I have just left them to their eating and mating frenzy all season long.
So what's up with the one little lonely yellow guy? NO one else was even playing with it - no group eating, crawling, mating - it's legs are almost transparent, unlike it's buddies who have black legs.
It also has eyes that appeared to be a reddish black color, fierce... but oh, soooo sweet. It was slightly skiddish of me but didn't run. It just barely hid behind a stick at one point, then came back out for some more pics. As you can see below, it's a really tiny insect - compared to my really small hand.So, what is Mr. Lemon? Same kind of bug as the nearby gang, a whole 'nother bug, or a pigment challenged cutie?

XoXo

14 comments:

Erik said...

That's a, um ... Cthulhu bug. It signifies the end times are coming.

Miss Voodoo said...

Ya Know Erik - I think you just made that up. ;)
But bonus points for effort.

Gratuitous said...

Looks like it's a type of anchor stink bug. It signifies the end times are coming.

Miss Voodoo said...

I agree it might be an anchor stink bug (they don't stink though that I have found out yet) ... but what about a solid yellow one?
I haven't found it in any searches... maybe it's time to send off to an entomologist for clarification! :)

PS- Ya'll are so morbid wit' yo end of times stuff, everyone knows that's not till 2012 and peak oil ;)

Gratuitous said...

Judging from the same "shield" lines on the yellow one as the black & orange ones, my guess is it's the same variety of beetle. But no, there's no reference to different colors dependent on maturity level or sex. So maybe it is indeed an odd one out; a red-headed step child,etc? Oddly, the color makes it seem somehow... yummy. I wonder if its predators might feel the same way? If stink bugs taste bad to birds, and their markings signal that to their predators, the yellow ones, I fear, aren't long for this world. So yeah, for this little freak, as Erik says, signifies the end of days... for itself.

Miss Voodoo said...

Gratu-
I bet it taste like lemon drops. Or crystallized ginger. :)

Erik said...

You have cracked the mystery wide open, 2012 it is indeed. And I offer proof!

http://www.experiencefestival.com/forum/photopost/showphoto.php/photo/1221

The bug's face is clearly shown to the left and right on the Mayan calendar (note the distinct yellow color, and large menacing white markings on the front of its face).

OMG, I need to start building my underground bunker stocked with spam luncheon meat and pez.

Miss Voodoo said...

Erik-
I am gonna make a Crazy Lady in the Woods Calender, and it's going to have pez dispensers as the symbol of the destruction of mankind.
Preferably with a Disney character head.

Gratuitous said...

Will there be bobbleheads to detect nuclear tremors?

It took me awhile to see what you two see in the calendar, and yeah the whole thing is ominous. Is it me, or are all of the animals in the outer ring depictions of dead ones?

Hey, Mr. Well-Stocked-Bunker, I gotta say I'm already sick of spam, and I've only ever had it once. And as for you, Miss I-Live-Off-the-Land, ya better get picklin' and cannin' because burro spam gets just as old, just as fast. Me? I'm going take a load of psychedelics and slip space/time to 2 thousand years later and live in a brave new world which will be mine, all mine. Wait, will ther be girls there? Actually, a mysterious thing has killed off all of the other males but spared all of the females, yeah, that's it. Cool. I sure do digs me some apocalypse.

Miss Voodoo said...

ha!

Before discussing the apocalypse with you crazies, I'd like to say that my bug post has been sent off to an entomologist- so fingers crossed we'll get some info...! Yay!

And back to the wack-a-doo - yeah Bobble heads would work really well :) But someone explain to me why spam survives but the whole rest of the earth and stuff to eat is gone? I mean, we can eat cockroaches... especially if we migrate down south where the 'game' will be bigger.
Or sneak onto Gratuitous's time machine.

Gratuitous said...

Because spam can be made from anything that can be chopped, pressed, and formed : donkeys, cockroaches, time-machine stowaways. Whatever.

Erik said...

Gratuitious,

You're insane.

But in a good way :)

Miss Voodoo said...

OK Ya'll here's the latest word on the yellow bug discovery...

"Aloha Leslie, here's the answer from my friend Arnold, who asked someone at the Insect Diagnostic Clinic, Dick Tsuda. He was as stumped as you about your little yellow friend!

Dick is right, you should probably become best friends with your Agricultural Extension office-- they have TONS of info about gardening, raising veggies and insects identification. Our ag extension offices here also have Master Gardeners who will help you choose the right seeds and soil amendments.

Hope the answer helps!

Hugs,
Susie"

Which means, this bug is still a mystery! Exciting. Now it's time to send it off to a few more people.

.·:*¨¨*:·.gm.·:*¨¨*:·. said...

Albino.