Found these in one of my garden boxes today, when I went out to do some weeding. I didn't notice any particular destruction going on, on the plants that I found it on....but I don't want to make the mistake of thinking it's a beneficial insect, only to find out it's eating MY veggies! Conversely, I don't want to just nuke them, only to find out they were eating what was trying to eat my stuff. If it matters at all, the one in the picture was found on a bell pepper plant. Didn't really notice any trend, in that direction, though.... Google was not helpful in identifying it (via reverse image search), so any help in identifying this critter, will be greatly appreciated!
It looks like a beetle to me. I googled and there is no such thing as a batman beetle. I thought maybe a cucumber beetle but the spots are wrong
I tried to do the same thing. Google came up with a Leaf Beetle. But, I couldn't find a similar image.
It's a variation of a "Ladybug" beetle. It is most likely searching for Aphids and other tiny pests. I took a few very similar but not as remarkable to the ag extension office several years back and was told climatic conditions cause variations in their color scheme sometimes.
Actually all joking aside it looks like a harlequin beetle we normally see them of mustard and cabbage plants that aren't doing so well.... Order Heteroptera, family Pentatomidae, Murgantia histrionica Adult--1/4" to 3/8"Adults are red (or orange or yellow) and black, shiny,flat and shield-shaped true bugs. Check out the beetle in the upper right of the picture and compare...
yep WD 01 pretty much nailed it, except it is "Not to be confused with [ the ] harlequin beetle." "The harlequin cabbage bug (Murgantia histrionica), also known as calico bug, fire bug or harlequin bug, is a black stinkbug of the family Pentatomidae, brilliantly marked with red, orange, yellow and white markings. It is destructive to cabbage and related plants in tropical America as well as throughout most of North America, especially the warmer parts of the United States. In addition to cabbage it can be a major pest to crops such as broccoli, radishes, and the ornamental flower cleome." they are a pest em em
I wasn't going to be able to tell you exactly what it was , but I was thinking I used to see it in my grandparents garden years ago , or one pretty similar to it. Seems like I used to see'em on the tater plants.
Okay, that might actually make sense, then. I don't have any cabbage (etc) in that box, but I did have some mustard plants, that I was letting go to seed, so I could harvest the seeds from them. Guess I'll spend part of the weekend, pulling the remainder of those out, which will, hopefully, make them go elsewhere, and not mess with the peppers, beans or asparagus that I'm trying to get going, in that box. Thanks for the assistance!