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Monday, May 12, 2014

Spined Soldier Beetle: Hello to Good Predators

Today, while we were out in the vineyard, my husband eyed this little beetle resting on one of our vines. We've already forgotten most of what we encountered last year, but a search on the internet brought up some familiar images. We knew that this was some kind of beetle, but was it good or bad? The brown marmorated stink bug is bad, but a spined soldier beetle is very good. A good reference to determine which is which can be found here:
Look-Alike Insects
Last year, we were indiscriminately destroying things that we saw in the vineyard before we knew what it was and one that we deeply regretted was destroying the eggs of the spined soldier beetle. I feel that the eggs of the spined soldier beetle are one of Nature's little beauties. In looking back at my notes, this particular beetle that we saw is a spined soldier beetle Podisus maculiventris (Say), so welcome back, little guy! Be fruitful and multiply!
References:
1. University of Florida, Life Cycle of the Spined Soldier Beetle
2. Cornell University Biological Control Site
3. Stop BMSB

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