Tiny Fuzzy Hummingbirds

I just got back from an afternoon in the vineyard, hiking around and keeping track of bloom (underway in the chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot blanc right now).  Have I mentioned that it’s incredibly beautiful out there in the vineyard?  And although it’s quite easy to get caught up in the grand scheme of things in the vineyard – the soaring turkey vultures, the shimmering lake with serenely-floating geese, the very happy acres of grapevines — it’s the little things that were the focus of my attention today.  I spent quite a bit of time literally crawling through the clover, vetch and native grasses cover crop looking at bugs.  And I’m very happy to say that it’s another big bug year at Schlumberger!

In past posts I’ve written (some might say “harped on and on”) about the importance of beneficial insects at Michel-Schlumberger.  Prepare for more harping.  In this post I’d like to personally introduce you to some of my hard working buddies in the vineyard and garden.

This is an adult lacewing.  It’s a beautiful bug.  They feed on flower nectar, which is one big reason we plant plenty of wildflowers in the vineyard and garden.  Amazingly, this lovely and harmless insect will lay eggs that produce a voracious predator of all sorts of soft-bodied pests.

 

 

This lacewing larvae is doing some serious damage to an unfortunate aphid.  Kinda looks like something out of a Godzilla movie.  Except a lot smaller.

 

 

 

This is a soldier beetle.  It’s constantly crawling and flying and it’ll eat nearly every pest in its path.

 

 

Also know as “Lady Bugs”, these classic beneficial insects aren’t very lady-like.  Both adults and larvae are voracious predators of bad bugs.

These tiny guys (the parasitic wasp) take a more indirect approach to pest control. Certain types of plants have compounds that work in part with the saliva of caterpillars. When the saliva of the caterpillar and the juices of the plant mix, a fragrance is emitted that certain parasitoid wasps are very attracted to. The parasitoid wasps then kill the caterpillars and lay eggs inside the carcass.  The young hatch and then…well, you can guess the rest.

 

Maybe my favorite of all the good bugs.  Also know as a “hover fly”, these beautifully shiny little Syrphidflies lay their eggs near colonies of soft bodied pests.  The maggots hatch and a feeding frenzy ensues.

 

Seriously cool bug.  Wow. The Snakefly.

 

 

These guys are extremely fun to watch.  They hover as they sip flower nectar.  They’ve always reminded me of tiny fuzzy hummingbirds. Not to be confused with a bee — it is the Bee Fly.

 

  The Honey Bee! I took this photo in one of our chardonnay vineyard blocks.  This girl is foraging for pollen or nectar on a mustard flower.  I just had to show it off…

 

So there they are.  And there are actually quite a few more.  And they’re everywhere in the vineyard and garden at Michel-Schlumberger right now.  And we’ll do everything possible to nurture them.  Conventional farming practices encourage spraying of herbicides and pesticides (organic or not) which kill these good bugs and eliminate their food and habitat.  This type of farming, to me, is lazy and senseless.  These guys are on our side.  Besides, how could anyone want to wipe out entire populations of tiny fuzzy hummingbirds?

Pictures are fun and all but I highly recommend visiting these very good bugs in their own home.  Come out to our garden and take a stroll.  You’ll find flowers teeming with all of these good bugs.  And you’ll find seriously great wine.

Tony

Tagged as: Dry Creek Valley Wines, Michel-Schlumberger Wine Estate, organic farming, Organic Vineyards