How can a bug be beneficial?

Nature is filled with “good bugs”, crawling and flying creatures whose diet includes pests that ravage our garden plants. Here is a small list of those good bugs and the plants they like to visit for shelter. Intersperse these plants among the “problem pest areas” in your yard or garden. Keep in mind that many chemical sprays harm both bad and good bugs. To keep the good bugs on the job, eliminate harsh broad spectrum insecticide use in areas inhabited by beneficial insects.

Lacewings are little green or brown insects with large lacy wings. It is the larvae (which look like little alligators) that destroy most of the pests. They are sometimes called aphid lions for their habit of feeding on aphids. They also feed on mites, other small insects and insect eggs. On spring and summer evenings, lacewings can sometimes be seen clinging to porch lights, screens or windows. Plants that attract lacewings are Dill, Queen Anne’s Lace, Fern-leaf Yarrow and Cosmos “White Sensation”.

Ladybugs are easily recognized when they are adults by most gardeners. However, the young larvae, black with orange markings, eat more pests than the adults, and they can’t fly. Yellowish eggs are laid in clusters usually on the undersides of leaves. Plants that attract ladybugs are Yarrow, Bugleweed, Butterfly Weed, Queen Anne’s Lace and Marigold “Lemon Gem”.

Hoverflies are also known as flower flies. Adults look like little bees that hover over and dart quickly away. They don’t sting! They lay eggs (white, oval, laid singly or in groups on leaves), which hatch into green, yellow, brown, orange or white half-inch maggots that look like caterpillars. They feed on aphids, mealybugs and others. Hoverflies are attracted to Fern-leaf Yarrow, Dill, Feverfew, Queen Anne’s Lace, English Lavender, Spearmint and Statice.

Just like the rest of us, beneficials need protection from heat and rain. They need to hide from birds and insects that would make a meal of them. Again, a variety of leafy plants offers protection. Ground beetles hide in low-growing ground covers and in mulch or leaf litter. Flying insects hide in shrubs, on the undersides of leaves, even among the petals of Marigolds.

Other tips to keen beneficial insects working in your yard include having plants that flower at different times so they can provide beneficials with nectar and pollen year round. Bird baths or other backyard water features not only attract birds (another predator of insects), but also attracts beneficials.