Does any one know what this is? Bug/ Larva in soil?

11 years ago

I found this in the soil of my garden this morning. It had a hard shell, was brown, and it moved one end around. It look very odd and I can not find a pic of this thing online.

Thanks
Donovan

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Comments (10)

eahamel
11 years ago
It looks like a june bug pupa.
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
11 years ago
Definitely not a Junebug pupae. It's the pupae of one of the Sphinx moths. Many of the species have very similar pupal cases so it's almost impossible to tell who is who until the moths emerge.
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With mosquitos? That's odd, and the dunks should take care of it quite handily. If they're fungus gnats instead, I'm not sure if mosquito dunks kill those. Fortunately, fungus gnats are easy in soil. Any minor insecticide, neem oil, and often just soapy sprayed water, will kill them. The larvae live on in the soil, so a mix of 1/4-1/5 household hydrogen peroxide (3%) to the rest water, and water the plant, will take care of those. The combo won't damage most plants, but check to see if they're sensitive to either hydrogen peroxide or whatever method you're using up top. If they come back, repeat it again. They usually won't if you hit all the plants or soil at once. If you don't, then one of the remaining plants actually had a few gnats in it. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) naturally breaks down to water (H2O) and oxygen (O2) over time. So also make sure to use fresh, or at least properly stored, hydrogen peroxide, and only the 3% version available in the first aid section of your drug or grocery store. It isn't good forever. The same mix of H2O2 can be used to treat minor cases of root rot, but it's not terribly reliable. For minor cases, it can work, however.
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dottie_in_charlotte
11 years ago
The loop on the left side is rather odd. Is it perhaps the tongue structure for a big moth?
eahamel
11 years ago
Sphinx moth pupa is much better than junebug! (pupae is plural pupa is singular)
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
11 years ago
Yes, the handle holds the developing mouthparts. Sphinx moths are fairly good sized insects, but there are other species much larger that don't have that appendage. They do, however, have an extremely long proboscis, which consists of two parts connected to form a tube. That's the reason for the hook.....neat, huh?
wisner_gw wisner
11 years ago
That is what a hornworm looks like when it goes into the soil to later emerge as a moth.
http://www.examiner.com/article/getting-rid-of-hornworms
bridget helm
11 years ago
hummingbird moths. we have these. they are fun to watch at dusk. they look like chubby short hummingbirds and aren't the least bit afraid of humans. they buzz around from flower to flower. the kids LOVE watching them! they like pentas and lantana as well as my duranta bush.
bridget helm
11 years ago
it's remarkable how much they resemble the hummingbirds. we thought they were fat baby hummingbirds the first time we saw 3 of them flitting around at dusk. it's hard to tell because of the time of day/night that they appear. it's like clockwork, however
dottie_in_charlotte
11 years ago
Marvelous photo !
lkzz
10 years ago
Lepidoptera: Sphingidae showing the proboscis (the curved thin area).

A Sphinx Moth of which the Hornworm is a type of.

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Does any one know what this is? Bug/ Larva in soil?

Comments (10)

eahamel

rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7

Related Discussions

dottie_in_charlotte

eahamel

rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7

wisner_gw wisner

bridget helm

bridget helm

dottie_in_charlotte

lkzz

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