Weed and pest identification please

[Chef_uk]

Whilst weeding this morning i'm noticing all sorts of creatures so would love to know which is a pest and which is a predator. Correct me where i am wrong

Ladybird on Parsnips (Predator)


2 spot Ladybird on Parsnips (Predator)


Blackfly eggs on Brussels (Pest)


Cabbage White Catterpillar on Brussels (Pest)


7 spot LadyBird on Parsnips (Predator)

[Chef_uk]

Blackfly on Parsnips (Pest)


Housefly on Brussels (Predator)


Baby Slug on Brussels (Pest)


blackfly and greenfly on new Parsnips leaves (Pest)


Earwig on Runnerbeans (Predator)

[Chef_uk]

Poppy (Weed)


Poppy (Weed)


??? (Weed)


Nettle (Weed)

[Flummery]

Your ??? weed is sun spurge I think. I weed it out. However, it's a pretty thing. I think your nettle looks like red dead-nettle. I weed that out too!

[taff]

i think the last but one one is chickweed.

ok, maybe not I need a course on identifying weeds
and on the plus side, I've just finally found out what fat hen looks like...now to find what the other one is....

[zazen999]

*coughs - poppies aren't necessarily weeds and attract predator insects into the garden. If you don't want them growing next year though - chop the seed heads off before they throw seed everywhere.

And - Fat Hen - can set 72,000 - EACH if you leave it - this is one weed that I see everywhere and I teach the kids this one first.

[Two_Sheds]

I think your baby slug is a hoverfly larva (good guy)

[Aberdeenplotter]

They are all weeds if they are in the wrong place.

[rustylady]

Whilst weeding this morning i'm noticing all sorts of creatures so would love to know which is a pest and which is a predator. Correct me where i am wrong

Ladybird on Parsnips (Predator)
[ATTACH=CONFIG]24965[/ATTACH]

2 spot Ladybird on Parsnips (Predator)
[ATTACH=CONFIG]24966[/ATTACH]

Blackfly eggs on Brussels (Pest)
[ATTACH=CONFIG]24967[/ATTACH] I don't think these are blackfly eggs, looks more like insect droppings (caterpillars?)

Cabbage White Catterpillar on Brussels (Pest)
[ATTACH=CONFIG]24968[/ATTACH] This doesn't look like a cabbage white caterpillar, the colour is wrong.

7 spot LadyBird on Parsnips (Predator)
[ATTACH=CONFIG]24969[/ATTACH]

Nice pictures, and you are right about the ladybirds.

[Chef_uk]

Thanks all Hoverfly larva, nice I had noticed a couple of them this week so shall leave him well alone.

Zazen999, should i leave some poppies to seed then? I'm only weeding so to help the veg take maximum feed and drink. If the poppies don't cause too much stress on the patch and they benefit the predators then i am happy to keep a couple to flower for that purpose. That said, when i weeded them out as smaller plants about 5 inches tall, under every leaf was covered in black eggs, the only weed to have them :/

[Two_Sheds]

should i leave some poppies to seed then? ... under every leaf was covered in black eggs

Not eggs, blackfly nymphs (wingless). Your poppies have acted as a sacrificial plant, attracting the blackfly away from your veggies. When they have a good covering of blackfly, put the whole lot in the compost heap, buried.

[Chef_uk]

Cool will do that then. The growth rate and cover rate seems to be at 5 inches with 5 sets of big leaves. The younger ones i pulled out had hardly any on so i'll only weed them when they get that tall.

Truth be told, i'm completely fascinated by what's going on with the insects. I'm a bit of a war enthusiast looking at how tactical combat works and whatnot so i'm half tempted to leave everything alone and let battle commence lol But that would probably end in little produce otherwise everyone would be leaving them to fight. Really need to build one of those insect hotels i've seen on tv and in the mag to help the good guys out.

[Two_Sheds]

i'm half tempted to leave everything alone and let battle commence

You can with some things: aphids and ladybirds usually find a balance, although you need to keep the aphids under some kind of control ~ squish them if you get big clusters.

Cabbage white caterpillars and whitefly don't really have any meaningful, effective predators though, so you need to do that yourself

[mothhawk]

.. I've just finally found out what fat hen looks like...

[Chef_uk]

You can with some things: aphids and ladybirds usually find a balance, although you need to keep the aphids under some kind of control ~ squish them if you get big clusters.

Cabbage white caterpillars and whitefly don't really have any meaningful, effective predators though, so you need to do that yourself

Ok, will try and lend the predators a hand