“Never hurt a Ladybug. We need them in the garden. Ladybugs help flowers grow, so we must give them pardon!’ — Anonymus
Hello, laidback gardeners, Summer’s heat is starting to come on. I thought I’d write about common beneficial predatory insects I have seen in my vegetable garden, and many are present in ornamental gardens in our zone 9. These insects are helpful in our gardens by killing and eating insect pests, i.e. bad bugs. They do not damage our veggies and flowers; they hunt the insects that do. Over the next 2 weeks, I’ll cover Lady Beetles (a.k.a. Lady Bugs), Hover Flies, Green Lacewings, Parasitic Wasps, Ground Beetles, Assassin Bugs and Praying Mantis. There are many more, but some of these I have seen in my garden, and all are common in our area. I feel that the #1 beneficial predatory insect is the Lady Bug. They are voracious eaters of aphids, but also other soft-bodied insects such as leafhoppers, scale, and mealybugs. They are predatory in both their larval and adult stages. So, study up on them because they look very different from each other. Some of you may be familiar with the centuries old children’s nursery rhyme about Ladybugs. Famers as far back as the 1600’s knew the benefit of ladybugs amongst their crops and after the harvest would burn their fields. Thus the “fly away home…” part of the children’s rhyme. My #2 is Parasitic Wasp. The adult wasp itself feeds on nectar, but their larvae feed on insects. The wasp lays its eggs on or in bad bugs, such as the Tomato Hornworm caterpillar. They look like tiny, white columns going out of their backs. When they hatch, they eat, in this case the caterpillar, from the inside out; fascinating, but kinda gross. The wasps also target scales, aphids, psyllids and others. I love these guys mostly for the damage they do on the Tomato Hornworm. #3 Is the Praying Mantis. Another chowhound of bad bugs such as aphids, leafhoppers, crickets, grasshoppers, beetles and many other types of bugs. They are masters of disguise and can be hard to spot. Keep a look-out whenever you’re around vegetations because they are totally cool to see and watch it hunt. With all and future beneficial bugs predatory or pollinators in my column, be aware that chemical insecticides kill both beneficial insects and pests. Any questions or comments I can be reached at thelaidbackgardenerlauren@gmail.com