Tomato bug identification please..

[smom1976]

I was playing with the chickens when I noticed 2 that were in the garden pecking like crazy. Then I notice my tomato plant laying on its side.. opon inspection the chickens were going after these bugs.

sorry it is a little blury.. but the adults are about 3-4 mm long.

what are these?

 

[patandchickens]

Adult *whats*? The picture is of some sort of insect larva (with the blurrieness I am not sure whether it is a fly or beetle grub, or *concievably* a nymphal stage of some sort of true bug). Anything you find looking like that isn't an adult, the adult will be some normal-looking winged insect.

Were these on the tomato leaves or stems, or were they in the soil around its roots?

Pat

 

[smom1976]

in the soil...there were three stages of these buggers.. small med and large this was the large one.. I will post the pic not zoomed in.

 

[patandchickens]

Sorry, still can't see quite well enough for good I.D. It is definitely the larval (not adult) stage of some kinda insect though.

Up here my first guess would be European cranefly (leatherjacket) larvae. Don't know if you have them down there. Mostly they're in lawns but also gardens especially if the garden was recently lawn. There are plenty of other kinds of insects it could be the young'un of, though.

Good chicken food, I'm sure

Pat