Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
Looking for Bugs in My Garden
Last week I showed you a mama wren feeding a bug to her young.
This week I learned the Sunday Stills theme is ‘Bugs’ so I went looking for more and found –
Moths
Bumble Bees
Honey Bees
But are they true bugs? I wasn’t sure so I did some research and the short answer is no. Scientifically they are insects but not bugs.
Who Knew?
Under the Phylum of Anthropods in the Animal Kingdom is the Classification of Insects – 3 body parts, 6 legs.
Within the classification of Insects there are different orders. Bees and moths belong to the order of Hymenoptera while ‘true bugs’ are in the order of Hemiptera. The main difference lies in the proboscis or mouthpart.
Bugs puncture plants with a long straw-like unretractable proboscis and suck the sap out of them, which damages the plants – think aphids. They may puncture other animals too! – think bedbugs. No wonder they have a bad reputation.
Bees on the other hand, have a retractable proboscis to drink and collect nectar from flowers. At the same time they perform the critical function of pollination – when they visit plants their bodies incidentally collect pollen.
So – did I find any ‘true bugs’ in my garden? Actually no – at least none today that I could photograph. If you’d asked me earlier in the spring I could have shown you colonies of aphids on my roses but they have been long since squished into oblivion.
And that’s a good thing.
~ Susanne
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 
Terrific photos!
Thanks so much! 😊
I’m glad bees are not included in the yucky bug category, lol. Great shots!
Yes, they deserve better!! Thanks for your comment. 😊
Great photos, but I have to confess that I did know that bees are not bugs! 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
Thanks Pete. 😊 I didn’t really know it either until I did the research! 🐝🐜
Wow, Susanne, thanks for this research on bugs vs insects. No wonder I don’t like some of the bugs, they suck, LOL! Your close-ups are amazing. Your bee close-up is stunning and so clear! Well done and thanks for sharing again!
Thank you so much! 🙂 I wasn’t clear about the distinction until I did the research. And you’re absolutely right – true bugs suck! 😉 Thanks again for your challenges as they often send me deeper into the subject matter! 🙂
Me as well, Susanne!
I love the wren feeding the baby. Thanks for the closeup.
I’m glad you enjoyed it! I was happy to get that shot. 🙂
Beautiful photos, Susanne! 😎❤️
Thank you so much! I’m glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
Great shots, Susanne
Thanks so much, Don.
Love love love the bees. You are truly talented. To have the flower detail as well as the bee detail when both are likely at least a bit in motion is incredible. All I can say is WOW (and thank you for the wonderful photos every day which are uplifting in every way).
Thank you so much for your lovely comment! I’m glad you enjoyed the bees!! 🐝😍
I had my own suspicions that bees, butterflies etc aren’t true bugs but I went for them myself anyway 😉
No harm done, right? 😉 I wasn’t sure so I enjoyed doing the research. Most of us use the word ‘insect’ and ‘bug’ interchangeably but scientifically they’re different. All bugs are insects, but not all insects are bugs. 🙂
Foster’s response: “Well, every now and then I find a bug on the floor and I usually follow it and sniff it until Mom realizes what I’m doing and takes it away and tosses it outside. She doesn’t seem to like them as much as I do…”🐱🐼
Benji is not above eating a a bug now and then but I think he prefers spiders. 🕷😸
Beautiful captures of bugs. 😊
Thank you. 😊
Very interesting, I learned something today! I saw a very unwanted bug in my garden yesterday, a stink bug…I hate them! Your insect pictures are beautiful, especially that bee closeup. Wonderful!!
Thank you! I learned a lot doing the research. I hadn’t realized that ‘bugs’ were a specific type of insect.
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your photos are amazing!!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed them!
Gorgeous photos!!!!
Thanks so much! 😊