Cabbage looper, almost identical to cabbage worm, both laid by a small white moth flitting around your broccoli & cabbage plants. Keep an extra fly swatter next to your broccoli (for real) the moths aren't that fast. Inspect broccoli carefully and dunk in salt water a few times to get them to float off. Although they don't kill your broccoli, they chew large raggy holes and hide in the heads. They can ruin cabbage as they burrow through all the layers. I mean, who wants to eat it then?
Above is the larvae of the adult squash vine borer (not the squash bug below) Eggs are laid at the crown of squash & pumpkins, sometimes melons. They hatch and burrow in. You can tell when you start to see 1 or more vines declining, they have likely burrowed in. The telling evidence will be the brownish poop the on the outside of the vine. But not sure how they get it out there from in there....anyway. With a open paper clip or the tip of a small knife, jab around the 'evidence' area and you may get lucky and kill them. They will be starting at the crown and moving down the vine, so stab on the correct end. Squash vines are fairly hollow, so you will know if you hit it. Entire plants can die from a single hatching.
Squash bugs live in huge family groups together. Dusting is effective. Also effective is laying down a board or shingle, where they would love to congregate overnight. Stomp on the board or shingle in the morning, then flip over to see how many you got! Squash bugs are 'piercing-sucking' insects, ruining plants & fruits.
Picnic Beetle aka Sap Beetle. These guys aren't really this big, about the size of ladybugs but elongated. They are lovers of the sweet things in the garden, like berries, sweet corn, tomatoes.They love sneaking in cracks of cantaloupe. I make a special 'scrap trap' just for them. Place fruits scraps on a paper plate and near the target area, nestle the plate into a plastic grocery bag, exposing most of the plate. After a day or so, if you have these guys, they will be flocked to the scrap offering. They are not very fast or bright, so quickly grab the bag, closing it shut and throw away. If you have large numbers you may need to repeat this several times.
Colorado Potato Beetle. These are almost this big. We hand pick these slow moving guys off the potato plants, their favorite food. They can also be on tomato, pepper & eggplant: all nightshade plants. Dust is somewhat effective. The adults that winter over in your compost heap, will feed on the plants 2 weeks before laying eggs, so that is the most critical time to dust, never delay your attack! At the larva & adult stage, they can quickly defoliate your plants. If you have them in huge numbers, skip potatoes for a year or 2.
Cabbage looper, almost identical to cabbage worm, both laid by a small white moth flitting around your broccoli & cabbage plants. Keep an extra fly swatter next to your broccoli (for real) the moths aren't that fast. Inspect broccoli carefully and dunk in salt water a few times to get them to float off. Although they don't kill your broccoli, they chew large raggy holes and hide in the heads. They can ruin cabbage as they burrow through all the layers. I mean, who wants to eat it then?
Above is the larvae of the adult squash vine borer (not the squash bug below) Eggs are laid at the crown of squash & pumpkins, sometimes melons. They hatch and burrow in. You can tell when you start to see 1 or more vines declining, they have likely burrowed in. The telling evidence will be the brownish poop the on the outside of the vine. But not sure how they get it out there from in there....anyway. With a open paper clip or the tip of a small knife, jab around the 'evidence' area and you may get lucky and kill them. They will be starting at the crown and moving down the vine, so stab on the correct end. Squash vines are fairly hollow, so you will know if you hit it. Entire plants can die from a single hatching.
Squash bugs live in huge family groups together. Dusting is effective. Also effective is laying down a board or shingle, where they would love to congregate overnight. Stomp on the board or shingle in the morning, then flip over to see how many you got! Squash bugs are 'piercing-sucking' insects, ruining plants & fruits.
Picnic Beetle aka Sap Beetle. These guys aren't really this big, about the size of ladybugs but elongated. They are lovers of the sweet things in the garden, like berries, sweet corn, tomatoes.They love sneaking in cracks of cantaloupe. I make a special 'scrap trap' just for them. Place fruits scraps on a paper plate and near the target area, nestle the plate into a plastic grocery bag, exposing most of the plate. After a day or so, if you have these guys, they will be flocked to the scrap offering. They are not very fast or bright, so quickly grab the bag, closing it shut and throw away. If you have large numbers you may need to repeat this several times. 
Colorado Potato Beetle. These are almost this big. We hand pick these slow moving guys off the potato plants, their favorite food. They can also be on tomato, pepper & eggplant: all nightshade plants. Dust is somewhat effective. The adults that winter over in your compost heap, will feed on the plants 2 weeks before laying eggs, so that is the most critical time to dust, never delay your attack! At the larva & adult stage, they can quickly defoliate your plants. If you have them in huge numbers, skip potatoes for a year or 2.
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