This is a
tachinid fly. It is absolutely in love with the variegated mint flowers on our patio. I don't think I will talk about its cute hairy butt or may be I should. Better not! I can see the Google searches now! There are like 1,500 species of tachinids that provide biological control in your garden. That is why it is so critical to avoid chemicals if you can. When I was an active master gardener, I was always reminding the callers that the bad bugs are only about 2 or 3 percent of the total insect population. I know most of you don't even think about spraying these days, but on the off chance you do, think about all of the good insects that are trying to get those bad insects under control. Quiet day here. The Herbal Husband is taking a well deserved break from the garden. Hope you are having a great day. Talk to you later.
Reading about it in the link, it sounds grim, but as you say, all part of the biological control in the garden. I don't spray, I have some odd looking plants at times, but does it really matter?
ReplyDelete::shiver:: So, if I find a hairy butted fly I should leave it alone. I'll do my best.
ReplyDeleteInteresting picture.
ReplyDeleteNo I think if you leave it mostly alone it balances itself out, Tracey.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe you are scared of this bug, Cindy! It's a good one.
Thanks Peggy!
Thanks ladies for stopping by! xxoo Nancy
Nancy,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you liked the movie. I was a little concerned because a couple friends saw it last night and did not like it at all.
My dog issues have been resolved, I have decided not to rehome Arabelle. My vet suggested a few things to try and so far, things seem to be better. I won't be writing about it on my blog again, however.
I think the movie hit a lot of notes that people are feeling. Steve Carell might have been too serious for some. Glad the doggie situation is better. xxoo Nancy
ReplyDeleteMs. Nancy, I have a lot of pineapple sage this year, do you have any suggestions for using it in the kitchen?
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dorothy
Hey Dorothy, If you were closer I would use it to make my pineapple sage jelly. You have to use it fresh. It loses its flavor dried. My pineapple sage made it through the winter indoors and has been a dud outside. I will be honest I use ours mostly for jelly. Occasionally with fruit salad for breakfast. I found this site that has a chicken recipe. The only thing I disagree with is that it maintains its flavor dried. I think it would be good with ham as well. Pineapple juice as a base and steep the leaves in it like I do for the jelly. Here is the site before I forget to give it to you:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.seattlepi.com/lifestyle/food/article/Ask-the-Splendid-Table-Pineapple-sage-pairs-well-1288233.php
Hope it works. xxoo Nancy
Thank you for the ideas, Nancy! I may (Maybe) try my hand at some jelly, I used to make jelly all the time, just time is the problem now! And we love ham and pineapple, that sounds good too!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dorothy :-)
Oh yes, I went to that website and bookmarked it so I could go back to it, it had some great idesa too. I like the one putting sugar in a canister and putting the sage in it and it infuses it with the pineapple sage flavor.
ReplyDeleteThanks