Oi! Get OFF my veggies!

I thought this was the work of possums, but I caught giant slugs in the act and found slug slime on the tomatoes.

Our first and only spaghetti squash (like a sweet zucchini) was pecked by our local female bower bird.

These little critters nibbled on some tomatoes and pumkpin leaves.
We also had pumpkin beetles, and this green critter on the pumpkins.

Not all ladybirds are good

I have been delighted at the variety of insects and bugs in my veggie patch. But some are unwelcome pests and I never knew that some ladybirds like to feed on vegetable crops ...


A pest and its mate - they can rip through a fair section of leaf in a short time

They are usually larger with 24-28 spots. They liked my potato plants and have also had a go at the 'curcubits' patch - that is, zucchini, cucumber and pumpkin. Others have reported the same problem. They are pretty big, so are easy to spot and pick off the leaves. This is why I have been reluctant to put bird-netting over my vegetables, as I hope they eat these bugs - but they may be unsavoury to birds. Hmm. Dunno about that.