Bermuda buttercup with western spotted cucumber beetle
Oxalis pes-caprae with Diabrotica undecimpunctata
Oxalidaceae

I still enjoy sucking on the stems of the Bermuda buttercup, aka sourgrass. I just have to make sure the stems I pick aren't anywhere near where dogs can do their thing, kinda like not eating yellow snow. This plant comes from South Africa.

ps 03/09/11 - In the past 2 years we've seen an explosion of this flower in places we used to never see it. For an excellent blog post, see Curbstone Valley Farm.

western spotted cucumber beetle
Diabrotica undecimpunctata
Chrysomelidae

I don't have a garden, so I don't despise these beetles. I appreciate their stylish green beauty. Funny thing about these spotted cucumber beetles, they're camera shy. Every time I tried to take a picture of an individual, it would quickly walk to the other side of the stalk and yet rarely fly away. It became a game of chasing the beetle around the ol' corn stalk, as it were. I understand this species overwinters as an adult. Evans and Hogue state there are two species of Diabrotica in CA, but they neglect to state the other species. I only have one embedded link in the ID above, because most internet searches provide pest management protocols, which I try to avoid on Nature ID if I can help it.

Speaking of links, I also try to stay away from commercial business promotions. However, we were at Earthbound Farms on Carmel Valley Road this afternoon when I took these pictures. We had a lovely time exploring their annual corn maze, flower garden, children's garden, herb garden, and small store. Their humble farm stand has developed over the years into a pleasant destination. There were so many cucumber beetles on the corn that I'm fairly sure they're honest when they say they're organic. So, why do I mention honesty in all of this? Well, there was a local fracas a couple years back. As the story goes, they trespassed onto a Carmel Valley resident's yard and stripped her rare pink-fleshed apple tree to obtain propagation cuttings without her permission and then lied about it to the sheriff's office. I know several people who now refuse to patronize this fabulous farm stand. It's really too bad. What's that saying, a rotten apple spoils the barrel?