(AF) Those Beautiful, Wonderful Little Green Bugs!!!

 It has been a most hot and dry Spring and Summer! We have struggled just to keep a few plants alive. Most died and very few produced. Any we did get to produce we pretty much had to hand pollinate as it was even too hot for anything but the squash bugs to survive.

Now Fall has come, bringing in the Fall rains and cooler weather, which has caused what plants we managed to save (and the ones we took a gamble on and planted late) to jump into fast growth mode. Everything seems to be growing at top speed, now, and bursting into bloom. Here at Annas Farm, the blooming Perilla Mint has attracted the honey bees, which also mosey over to the veggies to pollinate them.  In addition to the bees, some kind of little, black-spotted, green bug has moved in by the hundreds! I have not seen many of them before, so I don't know what they are, but what I do know is that they are doing a WONDERFUL job of pollinating my veggies, especially my squash! They don't appear to be eating any of my plants/leaves, just working hard pollinating. They are working so hard pollinating, that I wish I could give them some kind of treat or reward because they are saving me LOTS of time, time that I had been spending each morning hand-pollinating my squash in an effort to get a few to eat this year. Oh, and that pic above is of an Okra leaf. They are busy working away there, too.

Here is a pic of my Cocozelle Zucchini.  It isn't often that a male and female bloom are that closely together.

And here are those wonderful, little green bugs hard at work to pollinate our squash.

Isn't nature wonderful?! If anyone knows what these little bugs are called we would love to know, or even hear what you think or suggest they might be.  And hopefully, in a few days, we will be able to share with you what that little squash looks like on our plates!