Master gardener Lucille Saunders shares some thoughts on beneficial insects and how best to entice them into your garden:
There is a bug in my system. I have to kill it. Stop! The majority of us believe that all insects on our plants or in the grass are a problem that needs to be eliminated, but many insects are very beneficial to our garden.
Ladybugs and praying mantises are two useful insects that we are likely to recognize. Some of the ladybug’s benefits are that it feeds on aphids, other insects, pollen, nectar, and honeydew. These insects can actually be bought, but once they are released in your garden, due to their natural tendency to disperse, they rarely stay where they are released. Adult colonies in Illinois overwinter under leaves or bark.
The praying mantis is the only insect that can look over your shoulder and turn its head 180 degrees. You can see up to 60 feet away. They are an aggressive predator, eating all kinds of insects and spiders, and attacking unsuspecting victims.
The ground beetle, like its larvae, hunts numerous insects and eggs in the ground. They like to hide in dark, damp places like mulch, ground cover, fallen branches, and rocks. They are fast runners, so they rarely use their wings to fly. Some produce harmful secretions to deter predators.
Now that we know we want some insects in our garden, how do we attract them? While buying and releasing beneficial insects can help control large populations of insect pests, a better approach in our home garden is to encourage and attract populations of these insects and avoid insecticides as much as possible.
