What Am I?

Saturday was a nice sunny day. I was out on our deck enjoying the warm sunshine and apparently I was not alone. Also enjoying the sun on our deck was a cool looking bug. This is what he looked like.

Mom looked for him in the National Audubon Society Field Guide. It is a “wheel bug” or Arilus cristatus. I copied the following from the Field Guide:
Description: 1 1/8 – 1 3/8" Gray-brown to black. Prothorax raised into a curved series of coglike teeth along midline, inspiring the common name. Nymph is blood-red with black markings.
Habitat: Meadows and crop fields.
Range: East of the Rocky Mountains, from southern Canada south to the Gulf states.
Food: Caterpillars, even large ones including hornworms, Japanese Beetle larvae, and other insects.
Life Cycle: Eggs are laid in clusters on foliage. One generation a year.
This handsome predator can give a painful stab when it defends itself from a carless handler.”

I did not read the part about the painful stab until after I had captured and brought him in for Mom to see. Fortunately, I used a paper towel to handle him and did not get stabbed. When I saw the part about eating caterpillars and other insects, I wished we had lots more of these guys in the garden.

Last Squash Of The Year – "Dilly Squash"?

We have been picking squash for 4 months from the same plants. Four hills produced hundreds of pounds of squash. Most of it was given to others. We just could not eat 20 to 40 pounds a week. We had a freeze coming a few days ago, so I picked everything, including the little ones. These ranged from 9 inches down to about 2 inches long. The 2 inch long squash were about ¼ inch in diameter.
I have made “Dilly Beans before much like dill pickles but made with green beans. I wondered if it would work to treat small skinny squash like green beans and make “Dilly Squash”. I decided to try it. I chose the skinniest squash I had until there was enough to fill a pint jar and then followed the dilly bean recipe for one pint. The recipe includes water, vinegar, salt, garlic, dried red pepper flakes and dill. The largest squash was about 5/8 of and inch in diameter. This is what the jar looks like.
I’ll load it in the car to try out at Thanksgiving. It might be good and then again it might be horrible. We can all find out together.