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HomeTopics...Gardening TipsAttracting Insects
Beneficial Garden InsectsWhat comes to mind when you think of insects? Do you think of pests invading your garden? Or are you repulsed by spiders crawling along the wall? Do insects suggest stings and bug bites?
While all of these stereotypes do apply to many types of insects, gardeners should take a serious look at the benefits of having insects around. Some types of insects do much more than ruining your rose bushes or attacking your tomato plants. Read on.
Beneficial Insects To the novice, all the insects may seem the same: they have six legs, they crawl, fly, jump, climb around and multiply too quickly. What you may not know is how much damage you can do to your garden by trying to eliminate all the insects. The following list helps you see why insects can be your allies in the garden.Ambush Bugs: Close cousins to the assassin bug, ambush bugs are predatory bugs that lie in wait, camouflaged, on flowers. Ambush bugs are beneficial to gardens because they primarily feed on flies and wasps. Braconid Wasps and Other Parasitoids: Braconid wasps are an insect parasites because they pupate on their hosts, which are primarily garden pests. Other parasitoids are also beneficial to gardens as part of their life is spent on or in another insect. The other insect is generally a garden pest such as an aphid. When the parasitoid eventually matures, the host insect usually dies (the beneficial part). As an added bonus, many of these parasitoid insects often feed on garden pests during their adult life, further regulating the garden pest population. Bees: Bees are responsible for the majority of the pollination that takes place. Without them, many fruits, vegetables, and flowers would disappear. Damsel Bug: The damsel bug feeds on a large number of soft-bodied garden pests, including aphids and caterpillars. Damselflies and Dragonflies: Damselfly and dragonfly nymphs prey on aquatic insect larva while the adults feed on aphids and mosquitoes. Damselflies are often mistaken for dragonflies. Hover-flies: Hover-flies are best known for resembling bees, but they also benefit the gardens they visit. Adult hover-flies are not predatory; they mainly feed on nectar and pollen from flowers and help with pollination. The larvae though, are predatory and often feed on aphids. Lacewings: Lacewings (both the adult and the larvae) prey on aphids and other soft-bodied insect pests. They're not called "aphid lions" for nothing. Ladybugs: Ladybugs (also known as lady beetles) feed primarily on aphids. Praying Mantis: The praying mantis (or mantid) is a predators that feeds on virtually anything it can get its front legs on, which includes insect pests, beneficial insects and even other mantids. Spiders: Spiders aren't insects, but they're great at controlling pest insects. Spider webs are created to catch any flying insects, and while the occasional beneficial insect may get caught and eaten by the spider, the spider's prey is most often a pest. Certain types of spiders forgo web creation and actively hunt for food.
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