So lovely, bright, and delicate. Despite their dainty appearance, these pretty little creatures are deadly killers. The stuff nightmares are made out of… If you’re a caterpillar that is :)

While most spiders and many mites are beneficial in the ecosystem (outside and even in your house), there are some not so good arachnids. Like the much dreaded, super tiny, nightmare of nightmares to your houseplants - the spider mite.

Ok. So - I was trying to be good. I finally got myself to start working on cleaning my office up a bit. I figured taking out the long overdue recycling would be a good way to start… And then I immediately got distracted and never finished. Can you guess why? Well - There was a bug in the box I was about to throw out. So of course I stopped everything to photograph it! And here we are… 😂

We all know butterflies can fly. And flit. And float, and flutter. Sometimes they even dart. But have you ever thought of them skipping? Well, someone did! Introducing the nimble-footed Silver-spotted Skipper!

Are your cucumber plants looking less than green? Are you seeing spots? Or spots and stripes? On your cucumber plants that is… Yeah, me too. My poor hardworking cucumber plants. Who would have thought such tiny critters could cause so much destruction?

Do you ever wonder where bees sleep? Well, in my garden, some are sleeping on a bright gold bed of petals – right inside my squash flowers!

Has all your spinach long since bolted? Too hot to get new seedlings going? Hate the rising grocery store prices and constant E. coli scares? Yeah, me too. How about a free spinach alternative that you may already have growing in your backyard or garden? Sounds good to me…

Come on - tell me this groovy looking critter doesn’t look like it’s right out of the 60’s or 70’s dance scene? I mean, look at those leg fringes! And the best part? It’s actually called a dance fly!

Please welcome guest author: David Clark!

Ok, come on – tell me that it doesn’t look like a bird is to blame? Quite honestly, when originally passing by, I did think it was from one of the bajillion birds around my house. Until I noticed a bunch more on the plant, often rather oddly placed, and took a closer look.