True bugs. Forewings cover half of the abdomen (aka backs) of true bugs. They are in the order Hemiptera, which means half wing. Many other insects are often called bugs, the lady bug for example, which is actually a beetle (a lady beetle). But the only actual bugs are insects in the order Hemiptera.

 All of the true bugs have piercing-sucking mouthparts like hypodermic needles. The bugs that damage our vegetable gardens are ones like stink bugs, squash bugs, harlequin bugs, and tarnished plant bugs. But there are also good bugs, beneficial predators, like minute pirate bugs, that use their needle-like mouth to stab other insects and suck the life out of them. Aside from the bugs you find in your garden there are also bugs like bed bugs and kissing bugs, ones that feed on us humans by sucking our blood.

This green stink bug has its needle-like mouth parts inserted into a flower bud and is busy sucking nutrients out of the plant. You can clearly see that the hard forewings (green with yellow dots) only cover half the bug’s back. The membranous hindwings stick out from underneath the forewings and are easily visible to the naked eye. Stink bug feeding leaves Yellow spots of damaged tissue on developing fruits are the tell-tale clue that stink bugs leave behind.

This insect is a spotted asparagus beetle, not a bug and not a lady beetle. Like all beetles, the hard, colorful forewings (red with black spots in this example) completely cover the abdomen and the membranous hindwings are not visible. Beetles have chewing mouthparts, unlike bugs. This pest lays eggs on asparagus plants, and its larvae eats the asparagus berries.

All of the true bugs have incomplete metamorphosis where their babies (nymphs) look like the adults but without wings. The bug nymph shown here on an asparagus plant has very rudimentary wings and strongly resembles the adult bug. When it reaches maturity it will have well developed wings like the green stink bug in the first photo shown above.

The squash bug feeds on squash plants and their relatives. It, like the stink bug, is a true bug. The adults and the babies (nymphs) stick their sharp little beaks into the leaves and suck out the nutritious sap. They can seriously damage your summer and winter squash, and pumpkins, but they will also feed to a lesser extent on any other member of the cucurbit family. The nymphs look a bit like gigantic gray aphids clustered on the undersides of the leaves. When they reach adulthood they have well developed wings and are swift flyers.

In contrast to insects that have incomplete metamorphosis, those that have complete metamorphosis, like butterflies, have babies (larvae) which do not look anything like the adult. The butterfly larva is a caterpillar, a very different creature from the adult. The fly larva is a maggot, also very different from the adult.

 Effective organic controls for pesky true bugs in the vegetable garden include hand-picking where you grab them and dump them into a jar of soapy water. Insecticidal soap is also safe and easy to use. Just be sure that the bug you spray is actually a pest and not a beneficial insect because the soap will kill pests and beneficials alike. If you are plagued by bugs in your vegetable garden this year, think about putting up some row covers next year to exclude the bugs completely.

 Be careful and think twice before using any chemicals to control insects in your vegetable garden. Remember, you’re growing food that you intend to eat. Never spray your food with poison. 

Every spring I’m frequently asked two questions by gardeners in northern states. The first is, “Why doesn’t my zucchini grow? It just sits there. What’s wrong with it?”  The second common question I get is, “What’s wrong with my zucchini (or cucumber, or melon)? It has lots and lots of flowers but no fruit. What’s up with that?”

Home gardeners love to grow members of the squash family, the Cucurbitaceae, called cucurbits for short. This big, important family includes all types of squash: winter (like acorn and butternut), and summer (like zucchini). It also includes cucumbers, pumpkins, melons in the genus Cucumis (cantaloupe, Persian, honeydew, casaba) and watermelon, in the genus Citrullus.

Keep in mind one very important fact about all these delicious vegetables and fruits:  they are all warm season crops. This means that they are sensitive to cold temperatures. And this sensitivity can cause stunting and lack of fruit.

Vegetable starts of warm season plants are readily available in nurseries and garden centers early in the season, when temperatures are really still too cold for them to thrive. As a result, when gardeners plant them too early, the plants simply sit, growing slowly or not at all, and become stunted. They usually begin to grow well when the weather warms up. So the answer to the first question is the squash doesn’t grow because it is still a bit too cold for it.

These two summer squash, each about 3 inches tall, wait for warmth. They’ve not grown significantly in the two months since they were planted. The photo also illustrates the second problem that crops up this time of year. Both plants above are flowering, but all the flowers are male. Male flowers do not make fruit. Only female flowers make fruit. All members of the squash family have female and male flowers on the same plant, but they produce only male flowers early in the season while temperatures are still cool. They start producing female flowers later in the season.

Here’s a female cucumber flower. See the spiny baby cucumber holding this flower up? That fat spiny structure below the petals (that is, closer to the plant) is the ovary of a female flower. The ovary is the thing that matures into a fruit, whether it’s an acorn squash or a zucchini. No female flowers, no fruit! And that’s the answer to the second question.

Look at the stalk holding up this male zucchini flower. It doesn’t look like a miniature zucchini at all. That’s because it isn’t. This stalk is merely a stalk. This flower does not have an ovary because it is a male flower and it will never mature into a fruit. The male flowers produce the pollen needed to fertilize the female flowers.

A female flower of a yellow summer squash clearly has a large yellow ovary underneath the flower petals. The ovary looks like a miniature squash. After the female flower gets pollinated it matures into a delicious squash.

 Next time you wonder why your cucurbit plants sit and sulk, or your zucchinis make flowers but no fruit, just be patient. Keep your vegetable starts where they are warm and have plenty of sun. Put them outside in the garden or a container when the weather warms up.