Prickly Cucumbers?

[Frederick W. Schueler]

Everyone,

Back in the day (1990s) we concluded that Squash Bugs (Anasa tristis)
chewed down colonies of this species when they could them, but we've had
a real paucity of sightings of Cucumbers since 2021, and very few Squash
Bugs on our garden Squash. There haven't been at any Cucumbers at any of
the Ontario sites found by -
https://karstaddailypaintings.blogspot.com/search?q=cucumber - and the
database has only one record from 2022 and none from last year.

Here's the first robust stand we've seen since 2021:

28 June 2024 - Canada: Ontario: Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry Cos:
Mountain: Inkerman, S side N. Branch South Nation River above bridge.
(10m site), 45.03432° N 75.39545° W TIME: 1820. AIR TEMP: circa 22°C,
light overcast, Beaufort light breeze. HABITAT: parkinglot edge of Acer
negundo woods along rocky limestone stream in rural village. OBSERVER:
Frederick W. Schueler, Aleta Karstad Schueler. 2024/168/am, Echinocystis
lobata (Prickly Cucumber) (Plant). abundant vine, specimen, photo.
densely over Acer negundo & Arctium at edge of parkinglot. The most
[first] of this species we've seen anywhere this year.

Do others have any ideas about this?

fred.
------------------------------------------------------------
---------Frederick W. Schueler & Aleta Karstad ------------ Fragile
Inheritance Natural History - https://fragileinheritance.ca/ FI
Newsletter -
https://clt1233162.benchmarkurl.com/c/v?e=15E5037&c=12D10A&t=0&l=53EF5F06
2022 annual letter: https://clt1233162.bmeurl.co/EFE49F7 6 St-Lawrence
Street Bishops Mills, RR#2 Oxford Station, Ontario K0G 1T0 on the Smiths
Falls Limestone Plain 44.87156° N 75.70095° W
------------------------------------------------------------

[P Auritus]

Squash vune borer? I don't know the range of this very pretty, very fast, and deadly (to squash) moths.

Two years ago they were the Destroyers of Squash here in Niagara.

According to iNaturalist they are in the Ottawa area (and south). Their density is proportional to population density (e.g. number of observers), so it is hard to see if they are actually common or not.

Shane

Do you seem them in your area?

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[Frederick W. Schueler]

On 02-Jul-24 1:19 p.m., P Auritus wrote:
> Squash vine borer?

* No, I don't think the Bristly Cucumber stems are large enough for the
Borers. it's Squash Bugs we saw chewing down stands of Cucumber -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anasa_tristis

I don't know the range of this very pretty, very
> fast, and deadly (to squash) moths.

* those who raise Squash species other than C. moschata in our area
routinely suffer pretty severely from the Borers, and we've had a couple
in our Butternut vines.

[Matt Keevil]

I am reluctant to plant any more non-butternut squash given how bad the borers have been in recent years. At one point I looked into it and I can't remember the details but the gist I took away is that they have been in Ontario for decades at least. I just don't remember them being an issue years ago when my mother and grandmother were growing pumpkins and squash so I suspect something has changed. Striped cucumber beetles have also been extremely abundant for us but we do not get many squash bugs at our place. We have had wild cucumber on fences in the past but I can't recall seeing any recently.

Matt

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[Frederick W. Schueler]

* all the replies to this were about squash insects - does anyone have
thoughts about the abundance of the Cucumbers? A posting to field
Botanists of Ontario had no declines in Cambridge/Brantford area,
Peterborough, & Highlands East, but declines in Simcoe & Dufferin
Counties, and the idea that declines might be due to Turkeys eating the
seeds.

fred.
============================================

--

[Frederick W. Schueler]

On 11-Jul-24 7:55 a.m., I wrote:

> - does anyone have thoughts about the abundance of the Cucumbers?

* my original message noted declines in Prickly Cucumbers in the areas
we usually visit, but in taking Aleta to Morrisburg for her ride to New
Brunswick, I found that they're quite common along County Roads 22 & the
eastern portion of 21, in Shanly, and along Forsythe Road north of
Roebuck, so whatever has taken them out of Bishops Mills, Kemptville,
and North Augusta areas hasn't been of regional extent.

fred.
==============================================

> A posting to field
> Botanists of Ontario had no declines in Cambridge/Brantford area,
> Peterborough, & Highlands East, but declines in Simcoe & Dufferin
> Counties, and the idea that declines might be due to Turkeys eating the

> seeds. - fred.

[Frederick W. Schueler]

On 21-Aug-24 8:54 a.m., Frederick W. Schueler wrote:
> On 11-Jul-24 7:55 a.m., I wrote:
>
>>  - does anyone have thoughts about the abundance of the Cucumbers?
>

> my original message noted declines in Prickly Cucumbers in the areas

> we usually visit, but they're quite common along County Roads 22 & the

> eastern portion of 21, in Shanly, and along Forsythe Road north of
> Roebuck, so whatever has taken them out of Bishops Mills, Kemptville,
> and North Augusta areas hasn't been of regional extent.

* ...but coming home from Kemptville along Bedell Road this evening
there were two places where Cucumber vines were running up into roadside
trees, one about 70m along the road and the other about 20m.

I've been thinking I'll gather a lot of seeds, and plant them around
Bishops Mills to see how they fare - but maybe the lack of the wild
Cucumbers is the reason we've had no Squash Bugs on our Squash this year...

fred.