Many beginner gardeners panic at the sight of the least insect. A common attitude is “Quick! Where is the most powerful insecticide I can find to blast that bug to smithereens?”
The wise gardener takes a few minutes to look over the situation. After all, the vast majority of insects are either innocuous or somewhat to very useful. Only about 10% are actually harmful in any way. Before you start to spray something noxious in your garden, take a few minutes to look into what’s going. The insect you’re about to destroy is perhaps one of your garden’s best friends!
Consider the following: if the insect does not appear to be eating your plant and does not seem to have a probiscus that pierces the stem, there is normally no reason to chase it away and certainly not to poison it.
A Few Beneficial Insects
The following insects and other athropods are generally beneficial to the garden… but there are many others.
Bee – pollinator. Source: Maciej A. Czyzewski, WIkimedia CommonsBraconid wasp – parasite of insect pests. Source: Judy Gallagher, Wikimedia CommonsCentipede – predator of insect pests. Source: Bert Heymans, FlickrGround beetle – predator of insect pests and slugs. Source: Udo Schmidt, FlickrHoverfly – pollinator; some species are predators of insect pests. Photo: Sandy Rae, Wikimedia CommonsIchneumon wasp – parasite of insect pests. Source: Charlesjsharp, Wikimedia CommonsLacewing – predator of insect pests. Source: Bruce Marlin, Wikimedia CommonsLadybug – predator of insect pests. Provided by: ElinaElena, PixabayPirate bug (flower bug) – predator of insect pests. Source: Jack Dykinga, Wikimedia CommonsPraying mantis – predator of insect pests. Source: Oliver Koemmerling, Wikimedia CommonsPredatory mite – predator of red spider mites. Source: Anders Sandberge, FlickrSocial wasp – parasite of insect pests and pollinator. Alvesgaspar, Wikimedia CommonsSoldier bug – parasite of insect pests. Source: Gerald J. Lenhard, Bugwood.orgSpider – predator of insect pests. Source: James Petts, Wikimedia CommonsTachinid fly – parasite of insect pests and pollinator. Source: Gilles Gonthier, Flickr
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