litle red bugs

[nikki]

I have little red bugs in my soil. I do not recall seeing tons last year but in preparing my soil this last week I have noted TONS of these very small bugs. I have "The Organic Gardeners Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control". Looking at the pictures in my book I see a picture looking simular to these bugs under aphid midge- (pg # 268-a good bug) but the picture is labeled "aphid mummies". The text though has no definition as to what "mummies" are?????

I think I need a bug primer 101- or bug identification for dummies. There are so many different bugs out there that I am not finding in my book. I do not want to kill good bugs but I also do not want to give bad bugs a one up by not killing them!

I have never had huge bug issues- other then squash bugs towards the end of last season (why I purchased the book to be better prepared for future infestations). Anyway.... my three questions...

1.Can anyone help me with what the little red bugs are?
2.What is a mummy in the life cycle of bugs?
3.Any suggestions for books about bug identification related to gardening?

Thank you if you have any answers/suggestions!!!

[dirtundernails]

In my area, the little red bugs are chiggers. Mummy aphids have been parasitized and eaten from the inside by larvae. I suggest flea markets and thrift stores or garage sales in your search for a book. Old books are better IMO.


dun

[GObug]

Nikki
Are the little red bugs in or near the lawn? Are they almost as small as the head of a pin? If so, I would guess they could be clover mites.

Their features are hard to see with the naked eye. A decent magnifying glass would help identify the critter.

[GObug]

I don't know of any single book that can effectively cover the spectrum of bugs. I have a single book 2 inches thick for spiders, and more than a dozen other insect books. I have a guide just for Colorado ants. There are more than a million bugs. Even the best books only touch the surface. For example scarab beetles are a whole family found throughout the world, yet you would be lucky to find more than one picture in any book. Scarab beetles are very colorful and very different from each other.

The best resource, if you cannot identify the bug is the state department of agriculture. You can send them the bug and they will identify it for you. Another possibility is to take it to a local exterminator. I used to do that for free if someone made the effort to bring it to me. However, exterminators may not have a great knowledge of garden pests.

[nikki]

The bugs are near the edge of the garden bed but mostly in the soil not the grass. Are clover mites bad or good? I looked up mites in my book now too- they could be what they list as "predatory mites" (pg 307) a beneficial bug OR spider mites (pg 308) not good. I did not see any webs though as spider mites would have. Will have to get out the magnifying glass and take a closer look at the bugs again!!

I am not really obsessed but always curious! Thanks for the info!

[GObug]

Clover mites are a parasite of the lawn, but they migrate from the lawn to a place to spend the winter.

Their cycle is rather backwards. Most bugs are active through the summer and dormant in the winter. The clover mite adults like a warm southern wall, or mulch or rock bed to spend the winter. Then in the spring they migrate back to the lawn and lay eggs. Then the adults die in late spring and the eggs don't hatch until fall, when the new batch emerge, feed on the lawn and repeat the cycle.

If you have a magnifying lens, you will see 8 legs and the front two are bigger than the others.

It can be easy to treat this bug, but timing is critical. A tablespoon of dish soap in a gallon of water sprayed on the lawn when they migrate works well, but you may need to be repeat the treatment a couple times both spring and fall.