Growing With Science Blog

Month: December 2012 (Page 4 of 5)

Bug of the Week: Bordered Plant Bug

December 5, 2012 / / 0 Comments

You just might mistake our bug of the week for a milkweed bug or a boxelder bug.

It is only colorful orange on the edges, though, hence the name “bordered” plant bug (family Largidae, genus Largus).

Can you see the triangle in the back that is a characteristic of a “true bug“?

This adult also has the wings on the back that are half leathery and half soft and membranous.

Bordered plant bugs are somewhat larger than either milkweed bugs or boxelder bugs.

Bordered plant bugs, as their name suggests, feed on plants like this one sharing a milkweed flower with a queen butterfly.

The youngest nymphs are bright red. The older nymphs are shiny black, sometimes with red markings. Natural History of Orange County, California has some nice photographs of adults and nymphs.

Have you ever seen a bordered plant bug?

Seed of the Week: Bittersweet

December 4, 2012 / / 0 Comments

Our orange-red fruited mystery seeds from last week were from a bittersweet plant, Celastrus sp.

Bittersweet grows as a vine that creeps up trees. It isn’t noticeable in the summer, but in the fall the bright orange berries seem to appear out of nowhere.

There are two species of bittersweet  that occur in eastern North America.

The American bittersweet, Celastrus scandens, is an indigenous plant that is not harmful to the trees it uses as support. In contrast, the oriental bittersweet, Celastrus orbiculatus, is introduced from Asia and is considered to be an invasive weed.

Because the fruit capsule is deep orange rather than yellow and because the plant lacked thorns, I believe the plant in these photographs to be Celastrus scandens. The two species are known to hybridize, however, so I can not be certain.

Bittersweet is often used in fall floral displays.

Have you ever seen bittersweet growing where you live?

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