Ruud Kleinpaste: Today’s segment is brought to you by the letters SP

Spots on Leaves. 

A very common plant health problem that makes leaves look rather tatty and unhealthy. 

A good example is black spot on roses; dark brown to black in colour, often with a distinct yellow “ring” around it. 

These are fungal disorders and the best way to battle them is by prevention. Keep your plants spaced-out, in other words: give them room to dry out in the wind after a rain shower. The quicker those leaves are dry, the shorter the infection time will be. 

Spittle bugs 

South Island gardeners will know them well – it seems a typical critter in our neck of the woods. 

The larvae of these frog hoppers love to extract juices out of their host plants (lavender is wonderfully affected in my garden, but Coprosma and lots of other plants are also a target. 

The way these insects protect themselves is by creating a wet bubbly bubble that gives them a good shelter site, so that predators (birds, and predatory insects) cannot find them. Try wiping the spittle away and you’ll find a nice, green insect staring at you. 

It might even show you its clever “move”, with abdominal contractions blowing air into it’s wet nest, causing those spittle bubbles. It protects them from dehydration and temperature fluctuations. 

Their damage to the plants is quite minor, so don’t even worry trying to control them.  

Spiders 

Spiders are another critter that becomes quite obvious at this time of the year. 

For starters there will be heaps of these arachnids on your plants already, feasting on whatever might fall into the spider trap (the “website”). Some spiders literally go hunting on foot, grabbing small prey like caterpillars and moths, beetles and crashed flies. 

But the coolest arachnids are those that make some significant spider egg sacs full of hatching eggs. I found some egg sacs on my wall with hundreds of tiny spiderlings dispersing in all directions on silken threads. 

“Ballooning” is one of the cleverest ways to move long distances, away from hungry brothers and sisters. 

Little Jumping spiders also make their presence known inside the house – hunting for small flies in your kitchen and lounge areas, with agility and precision. Those Spiders are really my favourite critters of the summer - I can watch them for hours. 

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