Okay! Thanks for your input. I just couldn't find one that looked close enough to this species so I just wanted to make sure. And actually this picture was after I cut off the bad parts.The stem was pretty much broken off so I just cut off the gross gooey parts. The rotted parts were turning black and have some white fuzz (mold?) on it. I was too grossed out to remember to take a picture xD Do you think it's too small to make it? My friend was about to throw it out and I wanted to try and save it :o

They are not overly problematic for me with powdery mildew - we have had a horrid hot, humid, rainy year and so far they look great. I really should get out and spray them once to keep them that way. I have planted numerous ones around my gardens but these are my absolute favorite. There is something about the casual-ness of the cactus blooms that sings to my soul. I like dahlias in this form better than the formal decoratives, too. I think it is Park that sells all the individual color packets of the large ones but they aren't cactus. I'll have to see if anybody sells the cactus in individual colors. I actually love them all - there are a lot of orange in this group, further down there is another big patch that is dominated with pink and white. And there's a few yellow in there someplace. Next year I am growing more of them. :)

It looks alot like those cactus sucking bugs but those I thought were black. (Never saw them up this close.) It doesn't appear to be a "friendly"....

Well, I won't list the field guides or technical books either....these are my favorite 'bug' books! Insects Through The Seasons by Waldbauer is a fascinating read. Ants At Work by Gordon Book of Bees by Hubbell Broadsides From the Other Orders by Hubbell (one of my all time favorites!!!) Insects That Feed on Shrubs and Trees by Johnson and Lyon. Its a detailed book, loaded with thousands of good pictures. To be useful as a fieldguide, you have to know the name of the plant you find a pesky critter on. I ditto Chubbles vote for Jean Henri Fabre. I've found two books written by him at book sales conducted by universities libraries or city libraries.