Hi crayphish, I'm always a bit concerned when people talk about spraying with soap or botanical sprays like garlic or capsicum 'just in case'. The thing is, insecticidal soap and most botanical sprays don't distinguish between pests and the 'good' insects that control them. Even more unfortunately, in a lot of cases the 'good' insects are MORE susceptible to pesticides than the pests. I know there are some parasitic wasps (tiny wasps that lay their eggs in other insects, often the ones we consider pests, like aphids, whiteflies etc) - Aphidius and Encarsia species spring to mind - that are affected by insecticidal soap. The soap spray won't affect the leafminers, that's for sure, unless it has some extra property because of the mintiness, because the adult leafminer flies are long gone and the leafminer larvae are snug in their little burrow. I wonder if the leafminers even requires any action. It looks like a Liriomyza species, probably L. trifolii, which is considered a pest in commercial flower and celery crops, but fruiting crops like beans, tomatoes, cukes etc are rarely bothered. If you leave well enough alone the native parasitic wasps, Diglyphus species and the like, will probably come along and provide reasonable control for you. A bit of leaf damage won't hurt your plants and unless it's severe, it shouldn't affect yields either. Tracey

They like lots of root space. No such thing as too big of a pot. The 3 yr. old yellows are in 15 or 20 gal. pots and are starting to act like they want bigger pots this year. Manzanos/Rocotos can get 30 ft. long in the ground. I don't trim mine at all until the second year. They like water but need good drainage-thats why I use the mix I do. I water mine every 3 or 4 days.I don't know what your weather is like so I have no idea as to your plants water needs. Mine get anywhere from pure southern exposure to morning or afternoon sun. It seems the bigger the pot the less hassles I get with the plants. I also use a 1/10th or so mix of Fish emultion and seaweed extract every time I water and I think thats better than ferts full strength a couple times a season. You need the extra nitrogen when using soil mixes with bark in them.As the bark breaks down it stores up nitrogen. I also give my plants Calcium (Foli Cal)every once in a while.They usually start budding soon after I water with Foli Cal. Pics of my seed stock pods

Sorry DM, I should have said Carpenter ants are members along with others of wood destroying insects, which unlike termites that eat wood, Ants forage though wood on their way to nesting opportunities. And, yes, thanks for the info on the wings..... Daryll By Paul Fisette � � 2002 Carpenter ants and termites are wood-destroying insects that cost us billions of dollars every year. More than 90% of the homes in the US are wood framed. But even homes built of masonry and steel serve up delicious wood treats to these pests. Left unchecked, they systematically destroy our homes and valuable wood objects in them.

The clarity has been lost in the enlargment process and it's difficult to see any characteristic detail. But I'll guess that it's a type of treehopper (family Membraciae, order Homoptera). Joe