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pests Bug ID.. what the bloody heck is this?

Super Hots Canada

Super Hots Canada

insect.jpg

 
So tonight I, sadly, had to go through with the decision to top at least half of my plants in the hopes of cutting back on the aphids that have gotten out of hand in my grow room. After all the trimming and the daily watering, I was looking over my Brown Naglah - my largest plant - and I spotted at least three of these strange looking insects on its' leaves.
 
The photo above is the clearest I was able to get of one of them. That little speck of dirt (or whatever it is) to the left of it is around the size of a full-grown aphid (to give an idea of the insect's size).
 
I can't recall ever seeing an insect such as this before - especially not indoors (my grow room is setup in my basement) - so rather than take chances I killed all three that I spotted. Last I need is yet another damaging insect on top of the fungus gnat, red aphids and small ants that are already in my space.
 
So.... Any ideas? :)
 
Thanks folks!
 
 
UPDATE ALREADY:
 
Aaaannnd then, on a haunch, I decide to look up the life-cycle of ladybugs - just to discover that I just murdered three ladybug larva. :(
 
Damn. *shakes his head*
 
I seriously didn't think it would be ladybug-related since I've only put one down in the room in the past month or two and it seemed to be gone the next day.
 
So, uhh, case closed already I guess.
 
:banghead:
 
Friendly-fire incident.
 
Colours are there, but they aren't shaped like the adults, are they.  Maybe through bravely leaving up your post, others will be helped. 
 
Here's to our allies.
 
 
Wulf said:
I think it's one of nature's crueler jokes.
 
Get born, you're a goddamn badass.  Bugs lip off to you and you eat their face, cause you're a goddamn sexual Tyrranosaurus.
 
Then puberty hits, and you turn into a pretty little lady bug.
Click to expand...
 
I've honestly always hated ladybugs. I've never trusted them because they always make a point of trying to slam into my eyeballs. BUT for months now I've been restraining the urge to murder them all because the need for their ability to commit aphid genocide certainly outweighs my grievance against them - they finally have a purpose to me.
 
So I guess it's only irony that when they finally try and setup shop in the -right place- in my house (there's a dozen or so in my bedroom window that I just can't reach) that I screw up and possibly wipe out their endeavor. Gah.
 
Well, the good news is that you have now officially killed every single beneficial insect you could possibly find on your plants.  If you see something with 6 legs that you haven't killed before, feel free to kill it.
 
Disclaimer:  Arachnids are not insects.  Do not kill arachnids.

Re-disclaimer:  My statement isn't entirely true, but here in Canada the odds of you finding any other beneficial insect indoors are extremely low.
 
Wulf said:
Well, the good news is that you have now officially killed every single beneficial insect you could possibly find on your plants.  If you see something with 6 legs that you haven't killed before, feel free to kill it.
 
Disclaimer:  Arachnids are not insects.  Do not kill arachnids.

Re-disclaimer:  My statement isn't entirely true, but here in Canada the odds of you finding any other beneficial insect indoors are extremely low.
Click to expand...
 
Luckily, there is more ladybugs around that I'll hopefully be able to catch and transport into my grow room. And no worries on the spiders - there is one that's made his home on ground of my Carolina Reaper's container. He seems happy as hell except for when I water the Reaper. lol
 
ajijoe said:
box elder beatle catapiller??
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I never even heard of them before.. but I did a quick search and I'd definitely rule them out based on what their babies look like: http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/insects/find/boxelder-bugs/
 
.. But these are definitely ladybug larvae. I just got a shower and checked on my plants and spotted a couple more of these on my Naglah. I took a video that I'm going to upload to YouTube later on today.. The larvae actually traveled down one stem, up another and went right up to an aphid and bit it's back off! It was glorious! :D
 
I just learned that the little red bugs on my roses are box elder babies and don't have to worry about them. 
 
spicy_echo said:
Moment of silence please for the slain aphid eating badasses you killed.
Click to expand...
 
How about a moment of cheer for their siblings who carry on - such as this one, who I took a video of today!:
 
[media]http://youtu.be/VfFE87FKUPI[/media]
 
solid7 said:
Dang, bro... Get in there and help those ladybugs out. You have a serious aphid problem!
Click to expand...
 
Oh, I definitely do.. I've been constantly spraying my plants down and the damn aphids just come back worse than before - every time. Last night I topped most of my plants for the 2nd time in around the past 6 months. I'm hoping I can catch more ladybugs around the house to put in my grow room.
 
Super Hots Canada said:
I'm hoping I can catch more ladybugs around the house to put in my grow room.
Click to expand...
Not to be Mr. Advice, but if I were growing indoors, and had an outbreak like that, I would pull out the nuclear option - and garlic bomb them. Yes, you'll kill good bugs... But maybe you can formulate a re-population strategy after you push the "reset" button.
 
solid7 said:
Not to be Mr. Advice, but if I were growing indoors, and had an outbreak like that, I would pull out the nuclear option - and garlic bomb them. Yes, you'll kill good bugs... But maybe you can formulate a re-population strategy after you push the "reset" button.
Click to expand...
 
Garlic bomb? I think I have a bit of an idea of what that might entail, but could you provide details?
 
Keep in mind, this is in my basement and I do have cats.. Right now the beneficial insects I have are those baby ladybugs. I'm leaning towards giving them a chance and see how that goes before I try anything extreme. :)
 
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