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What kind of eggs are these?

Avon Barksdale

Avon Barksdale

Just found these on the bottom of a trinidad scorpion leaf. I almost killed them right when I saw them but figured I better find out what they are first. I have a lot of assassin bugs on my plants, I don't want to kill them if they're assassin bug eggs. I've seen a lot of lightning bugs, ladybugs, and assassin bugs on my plants, and have been battling spider mites, and these don't really look like any of the pictures I've googled, and don't look like aphid eggs either.

Unfortunately this is about the best picture I could get. I don't have a magnifying glass (I'll pick one up soon) so I can't look at them really closely. They're kind of a dark silver color.

0626011854.jpg
 
send them to me and I will let them hatch hoping they are assassins. :lol:

Edit: just kidding of course, but I would love to find some assassins.
 
Justaguy said:
send them to me and I will let them hatch hoping they are assassins. :lol:

Edit: just kidding of course, but I would love to find some assassins.
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I have a ton of them. :D I just found another one sitting on a bag of mulch and transported him to one of my plants a little while ago. I've seen 3 or 4 different kinds of them. They're pretty cool looking, supposedly they bite pretty hard so I try not to touch them. :eek:

MGOLD86 said:
Look like squash bug eggs.
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Yeah they kind of do look like squash bug or stink bug eggs.
 
They look like these to me:

http://www.onthegreenfarms.com/fruit-vegetable/how-to-grow-organic-summer-squash/

In the spring, adult squash bugs lay neat clusters of eggs on the underside of leaves. The nymphs stay under the leaves during this time period which can last for several weeks. Healthy plants seem to be a good defense against these pests.
 
Everything I've found says that squash bug eggs are yellow, yellow-brown, or reddish colored though. These are gray/silver. Squash bug eggs also are somewhat oval shaped, while these appear to be practically perfectly round. They do look similar, but I don't know. I haven't seen any squash bugs or stink bugs out back either. Of course, that doesn't mean there aren't any or that these aren't squash or stink bug eggs. I'm going to try to find a magnifying glass tomorrow and see if I can get a better look.
 
i have lots of assassin bugs too, adults and babies, but ive never seen their eggs.. i heard that they lay their eggs in moist soil. i dont know, maybe some lay them on leaves
 
I think you may be right…I just compared both pics in Photoshop where I was able to enlarge them quite a bit. They do look different to me now.

Well the hunt goes on!!
 
Ok so after more googling I think I can rule out assassin bug eggs, apparently they're laid on twigs/branches and not on leaves, and they seem to be taller and more of a honeycomb shape anyway.

I think what I have is actually soldier beetle eggs. They are the right color and look extremely similar with the naked eye. I'll have to check with a magnifying glass to see if they have the hair looking things radiating out from the edges.

I'm mentioned there are tons of lady bugs hanging out on my plants...so it's possible some of them are actually soldier beetles since they look very similar and are very closely related. I know some of them are definitely lightning bugs, I've looked closely at some and I see them lightning up all around my plants at night, but it's possible some of them are soldier beetles and I just didn't look closely enough to notice. So I'll look and see if I can find any soldier beetles hanging around tomorrow, and try to get a better look with a magnifying glass. Hopefully they are soldier beetle eggs since they're good guys. :cool:
 
Some assassin bug eggs have spike or hair looking projections, too, so that alone can't rule them out. Here's a thought: cut the leaf off and stick it into a plastic ziploc-type bag, then wait for the eggs to hatch. You'll likely get a better idea of what they are once the larvae emerge, and if it turns out they're hafmful, you've got a bag to toss. If they turn out to be helpful, open that bag up and let 'em out.
 
That's not a bad idea. It is a giant ~7-8 inch x 4-5 inch scorpion leaf though, so I'm a little hesitant to pull it. That's a big solar panel sugar factory to pull off. :eek: I suppose I could just cut out the part with the eggs though.
 
Avon Barksdale said:
Did you happen to notice anything when you enlarged them, particularly hair-like structures radiating outward?



Not for a few months. :lol:
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The clarity wasn’t good enough to peek inside.
I do have a cheap digital microscope that could look inside, but it’s not going to help in this situation.
 
if you don't want to risk your plant just prune the entire leaf and put it in a small container and wait to see what you end up with.
 
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