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Sow Bugs and Earwigs
After the mini-storm created by my comments regarding sowbugs (pill
bugs, sometimes called potato bugs but not the same as the Colorado
potato beetle) and earwigs I decided to do a little research. here's
what I found:
Pillbugs:
Pillbugs are almost exclusively detritus feeders. They will eat
germinating seeds and, in a limited-habitat environment (as can occur in
an urban setting or in the greenhouse), they will feed on living plant
matter when the population is very high. So the conclusion on pillbugs
is: don't worry unless the population becomes very high in a limiting
environment.
Earwigs:
O.K., so I was wrong. Earwigs *will* eat living plant matter as readily
as dead material. They are primarily scavengers but, again, in a
limiting environment their populations can become so high as to actually
become a plant pest, and they will freely nibble on plants at any time.
(Strictly speaking, an insect is only a pest when it materially affects
the performace/yield of a plant. A ragged edge on a leaf or two is not
pestilence, except to the most neurotic of us.)
I have to keep reminding myself that my conditions are quite unusual. I
have a normal office job, and wear a tie to work, but I live on ten
acres of mostly wooded land, surrounded by dairy and horse farms,
forest, and other 5-15 acre house lots. So, as far as insects are
concerned, I have a wide variety of habitats available and they all tend
to find their niche and maintain a fairly stable population. The
exceptions are slugs, asparagus beetles and cabbage root maggots, which
are really the only pests I concern myself with.
So I have to watch my comments that are strictly based on experience,
and temper them with a little research. (Although my basic rule is:
"never comment on a subject about which I have no direct experience".)
Steve (Maritime...)
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