I'm Just a Basket Case, Herbally Speaking!

Had to Use The Herbal Husband's Camera for a Better Shot!

Well, I can't take much more of this season!  Oh, it has been one of the best for me in the herb garden.  Having said that, I'm on edge about the stink bug attacking!  And now we have these eggs being laid on the lemon verbena which I love so much!  They aren't stink bug eggs.   I don't think.  I have asked my friend, Jessica Walliser who just wrote a book called Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden for Timber Press what they might be.  I'm hoping that it is a beneficial insect.  Can't take much more. ;)  So I will let you know as soon as I know.  Well, here is Jessica's response to me just now and it is all good news:

I'm fairly certain they are the cocoons of a parasitic wasp. You can see how the tops have been chewed open so the adult wasps could emerge. My guess is that there was once an insect on the leaf that was parasitized by the female wasp (probably a caterpillar of some sort) and just stayed on the leaf as the wasp larvae consumed its body. The body eventually disintegrated, leaving only the pupating wasp larvae behind. Cool find.

The rain has started to fall here.  We may have up to 2" by tomorrow!  It has been a beautiful year in the herb garden.  Hope you are having a great day.  Talk to you later.