Do not eat your pet puffer. In consequence of their peculiar body plan, puffers do not swim as do most fish by curving and flexing the body. Most slow swimming is performed by the pectoral fins, with steering and stability provided by the dorsal, anal, and caudal fins.
Aphids in home gardens. Aphids are one of the most common insects found on plants. There are over 300 species of aphids found in Minnesota; they can be common in home gardens on vegetables, annuals and perennials.
The lettuce aphid is a problem worldwide and has recently become problematic in the western United States and Canada (Liu and McCreight 2006; McCreight 2008). However, the first three species of aphids listed above are most economically damaging in Florida (Nuessly and Webb 2010). Although heavy aphid pressure can stunt plants, the major problem aphids cause is head contamination, which makes lettuce unmarketable.