The Four Best Bugs for Your Garden

Believe it or not there are actually good bugs that you need in your garden! In nature everything is on someones menu that includes garden pests like aphids, white fly, caterpillars, mealy bugs, scale insects, mites & other pests that eat vegetables & fruits. Attracting these good guys to your garden is key, this means that there must be some bad guys for them to eat. Use pesticides as a last resort as they are non discriminate killers of both good & bad bugs alike (however they are useful when dealing with persistent infestations). Many native plants attract beneficial insects. Below is a list of the four best friends of the gardener.

* Lacewings- come in two colors, green & brown. They are fairly common in our area & both the juveniles & delicate adults feed on aphids & mites. Lacewings are most active spring through early fall. They are attracted to many flowers that provide both supplemental food (nectar) & shelter. The plants that grab their attention best are: Cosmos, Coreopsis, Cilantro, Parsley, Dill, Sages, & Sunflowers.

* Ladybugs- These are the most well known of the good bugs. The real hero here is the larva which look like little alligators striped in black & red. The larva go about their days foraging voraciously for aphids & scale insects. The adults feed on aphids too but they tend to be more preoccupied with mating. A gardener does not usually need to buy ladybugs because they are very common in our area & often they will leave your yard once all the food is gone. Ladybugs need flower pollen & nectar to supplement their diet. They are attracted to a wide variety of flowering plants but these are their favorites: Dill, Alyssum, Parsley, Cilantro, Onion Flowers, Sunflowers, Yarrow, most Daises, Mustard, Peas, Beans, Zinnia, & Geraniums.

* Hover Fly's- These relatives of the pesky Housefly are often overlooked. These true fly's are disguised as honeybees with stripes ( not all of the hover fly's have stripes however). The adults hover around flowers sipping nectar & worrying about mating. The larva (maggots) are eating machines that vacuum up aphids & other soft bodied insects. Some fly's also hunt for grasshoppers & caterpillars. These fly's are attracted to many different types of flowers but they love: Borage, Alyssum, Cosmos, Sages (Salvias), Basil, Oregano, Zinnia, & marigolds.

* Parasitic Wasps- these little guys are the unseen champions of the garden. Parasitic wasps are usually tiny flying insects that seek out garden pests like caterpillars. These wasps inject their eggs into the host insect which is then consumed inside out by the larva within. Many of our native wasps are beneficial because they aid in pollination. They are attracted to many different types of flowers but they love: Borage, Alyssum, Cosmos, Sages (Salvias), Basil, Oregano, Zinnia, Dianthus, & Marigolds.