The first hint of color came on just one of my cherry roma tomatoes this morning. I’ve been waiting since March 11 for this. Also, I had no idea that these plants were so large – just about seven feet tall so far. It’s those healthy SSE seeds, I guess.

Close inspection of the photo will show an aphid enjoying the view too. Is that drool coming out of his mouth? His buddy is in the next photo.

cherry roma tomato with a little color

aphid on tomato plant

Last year I documented the war being waged in my garden. My “Winged Monkeys” came to my rescue in protecting my broccoli from green worms.

This morning I walked into another battle. A flower spider intended to make a Japanese beetle its brunch. I’ve rarely witnessed a spider taking on something more powerful than itself.

flower spider vs. Japanese beetle - Here, it's advantage spider.

Running to get my camera early in the match, I wondered what the outcome would be. My mind raced. I thought that if the win goes to the spider, would I perhaps be able to order flower spider eggs to control the Japanese beetle infestation currently eating my pole beans? Should I consider raising them and telling my Organic Gardening forum friends I’ve found the answer to this awful problem?

The chase went on for several minutes. Around and around the grape leaf they went. The spider wrapped the beetle with its thread, the beetle tore it up and escaped, only to be confronted again by its determined foe. Neither one seemed to have a clear advantage.

Like any neighborhood brawl, a crowd began to gather. Both a long-legged fly and a ladybug watched from a safe distance.

You can see here what I saw as I first brought my camera to the scene.

After several attempts the Japanese beetle was the victor. He retreated within the relative protection of new leaf growth a little ways away from and out of view of the spider.

It looks like I will need to continue using my old peanut butter jar full of water to solve my Japanese beetle problem. (I couldn’t find it in me to put the battle-worn beetle in the jar.)

captured!

escape!

capture again!

A long-legged fly watches the drama from a safe distance.

It's not over yet! He escapes with the spider in hot pursuit.

The Japanese beetle is putting some distance between himself and the spider.

It's over. The winner escapes with his life.

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milkweed seed

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pear #1

Dragonfly

It occurs to me that an awful lot of what happens in a garden involves insects and spiders.  Because of that I have spent an unusual amount of time watching and photographing them this month.

If you’d like to see a gallery of the results of this please take a look at Insect Portraits.

I find that observing behavior is as fascinating whether it’s children playing in a park or dueling insects on my broccoli plants. Creating environmental portraits in both situations is a challenge I’ve always been prepared to take on. Both require some patience, a little knowledge and good light – just like gardening.

ladybird beetle

There is a war going on in your garden. You may not see or hear it, but be assured – it is as raw and bloody as any war.

It’s not a secret that an army of insects finds your garden as delicious as you do. Their numbers are astounding and their appetite is voracious. I did not attempt to grow string beans this year because of the time I spent last year trying to deal with the Japanese beetles that stripped the plants of their leaves. Despite my best efforts at hand removing them, the beetles won the battle.

But the larger war is not between man and bugs. It is among the bugs themselves. Ladybird beetles eat a small army of aphids that otherwise would suck your tomato plants dry. The ladybug’s cute appearance gives no hint of the coolness of their assassin-like behavior.  The dragonfly’s name let’s you know that it is not a passive-aggressive creature.

Today, however, I saw a most startling thing. I’ve seen it before – but only today was I able to photograph it. Two wasps attacked and consumed a green worm on one of my broccoli plants. It happened very quickly and, to my surprise, was repeated again and again. The wasps flew like winged monkeys from plant to plant finding – and eating – more green worms.

Am I the only one seeing these things? I’ll bet not. I’d love to hear your examples of the benefits of a variety of insects in the garden.

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wasps gang up on worm

green worm on broccoli

wasp finishes a meal