THE MOST BENEFICIAL INSECTS TO THE GARDEN

Defend your garden against harmful creepy crawlies by attracting these helpful critters to your plot.

Lady-burg

farmers love them for their appetite. Most ladybugs voraciously consume plant-eating insects, such as aphids, and in doing so they help to protect crops. Ladybugs lay hundreds of eggs in the colonies of aphids and other plant-eating pests. When they hatch, the ladybug larvae immediately begin to feed.

Green lacewings

Green lacewings also frequently feed on insect eggs, plant nectar, pollen and honeydew. Larval lacewings are insatiable predators – eating over 200 prey insects each week!
These beautiful creatures are a blessing for your flower garden, mainly because they feed on aphids, moth eggs, caterpillars, thrifts and mites.
Many different species of green lacewings exist, but they closely resemble one another. Their larvae are flattened, with an alligator-like appearance and reach up to ½ inch in length.

Hover flies

are actually good guys in the garden. Hover fly young is ravenous predators of garden pests such as aphids, thrifts and small caterpillars. The adult hover flies do not eat other insects but feed on nectar and pollen. First, learn how to recognise common beneficial and pest insects

Predatory bugs

Are particularly helpful in destroying tomato hookworms, thrifts, spider mites, corn eat worms, leafhopper nymphs and small caterpillars.The good news is that if they don’t come by themselves there are various ways you can attract them, particularly by planting permanent plants such as shrubs and bunch grasses.

Ground beetle

The ground beetle is an insect you want in your garden it's a large bug like to feed on insects that are particularly harmful to vegetables. If you intend to plant potatoes, cabbage or tomatoes, don’t forget to add a few rocks, logs and perennial ground covers to attract them.

Wasps

Wasps and yellow jackets are beneficial insects. They feed their young on insects that would otherwise damage crops and ornamental plants in your garden. They can also feed on housefly and blowfly larva. Wasps and yellow jackets become aggressive when their nests are approached or disturbed.

Spiders

In general, they are very likely to “invade” your garden, particularly if it is populated with various insects. However, if you don’t spot any, then you can attract them by planting straw mulches or permanent perennial plants.

Tachinid flies

Voria ruralis -This fly attacks cabbage looper caterpillars. A female tachinid will lay eggs on a caterpillar and then larvae will develop inside the insect. Myiopharus doryphoroi – This fly is a parasite of squash bugs. The fly larvae burrow into the host's body

Dragonfly

The dragonflies are not only helpful to have in the garden (because they feed on aphids and other pest bugs), but are also useful in keeping the mosquito population under control.

Honeybees

This top cannot be complete without including one of the best pollinating insects out there: the honeybee.In fact, the honeybees are doing such a great job that they are even estimated at around 16 billion dollars in the U.S. economy.