It really is funny how the reader can so easily misunderstand the writer's intent. I was wary of Asleep's post as well, but since he's always been cordial in threads we've participated in, I figured it had to be me and the way I was reading the o/a tone of the post, so I replied as though there was no underlying agenda - the confirmation of which I was glad for. A lot of misunderstandings result in battles when the reader misreads the writer's intent and responds w/o considering what was said and what was heard (regarding intent) were quite different. Just my musings ..... Al

I thank everyone for trying to help me with the Tomato bug problem. I suspect the bugs to be pests. I had noted several tomatoes deformed and damaged in this plant before I saw the bunch of these menacing insects with two separate dark spots on its abdominal region and orange yellow skin color as seen in the image. After reading your answers I took some more photos, pushed some of the insects into an oiled container for closer examination and plucked one tomato with several of these bugs crawling on it. On that tomato, I saw a dark and an orange-yellow insects joined in copulating position while a dark one was seen crawling a little away. I also saw a round depressed scar and a thick linear scar extending from it. Are these bugs the cause of the damage? I will try the Metro DataVac Electric Duster Vacuum cleaner method to physically remove the bugs. I will post back the result after a period of observation.

I believe it's a huntsman spider. They are harmless. Nocturnal feeders, and I know they are large and look menacing, but they're quite beneficial at keeping your insect populations in check. These are a tropical species and also known as banana spiders because they are believed to have been introduced into the US through banana shipments.

I actually like that kind of spider, they're kind of cute and fuzzy and spring-loaded. :) I took 2 big spiders out today, threw them into the clematis,then I found where they were hiding out on the guest bath counter and one thing led to another and I ended up cleaning the whole bathroom. lol But boy, my glass-marble countertop is SPARKLING!