Of course I got out my camera (which, after finding so many neat-o things like the Eastern Tailed Blue and the Tomato Hornworm, is always with me when I go out to the garden) and took a few pictures of it. I decided to leave it alone because spiders are beneficial for gardens but, I didn't continue weeding or trimming near it or the tomato plants, I decided to move on and give it a little space...and me a little peace of mind.
So, I moved on to our Okra plants, which have been doing fantastic for a few months now. I usually pick ten to a dozen Okra each morning. We let them pile up and when we have enough we have fried okra.
Yes, I really did take pictures of our fried Okra!
So anyway, I started moving toward the Okra plant and almost immediately noticed this....
Another one of these spiders hanging from an Okra bloom...
A beneficial bee!!
Wow, right?
Bee's, like spiders, are beneficial insects so, I was sad to see this. I'd rather the spiders eat the non-beneficial insects, which there are plenty of, and NOT the beneficial ones!
I googled "lime green spider" and had no problem finding information on these freaks. They are called, Green Lynx Spiders and supposedly, they can run very fast and they jump on their pray like a cat. Yikes! I can't imagine what my reaction would have been if one of these spiders would have jumped on me but, I'm sure it would have been bad for me and comical for anyone who might have been watching.
The site I found on the Green Lynx Spider (which you can also view by clicking on Green Lynx Spider which is in black text in the paragraph above) said that they are, "Known to be important predators of field crop-damaging insects. However, their usefulness in the control of insect pests is counteracted by their willingness also to prey upon beneficial insects." So, I'm thinking these Bee killers have to GO! But, since my encounter with the Tomato Hornworm, it's now Jack's duty to kill whatever weird non-beneficial things that pop up. I guess Jack's squeamish too because these spiders are still residing in our Okra plants. Oh well, I was getting sick of fried Okra anyway.
Okay, I read this....veeeery quickly and scrolled right over the photos so I couldn't see the whole picture at ANY time during the reading! Phew! That was NOT an easy read for me! LOL! The only thing I find comforting is that you reacted ALMOST as I would have...with the exception of taking a SINGLE picture of these and not bolting outta there like Superwoman on crack! (Thank you for posting that Jack may be as opposed to "total tummy turners" as we are. I do feel a tad more grown up with that knowledge.)
ReplyDeleteLove you!