(800) 289-6656
Not all garden insects are pests. In fact, a great many of them are considered beneficial. Home gardeners recognize the good done by beneficial insects as well as the injury done by harmful ones. This guide is designed to help you determine whether the insects you see in your garden are harmful or helpful. Click on a Beneficial Insect below for a complete description.
This tiny, yet aggressive, parasitic wasp lays its eggs inside aphids causing them to mummify and die.
Particularly effective in greenhouses, the predatory gall midge (aphid predator) attacks over 60 species of aphids.
While not insects, we list beneficial nemtodes here because they are an important biological control of many soil-borne pests.
The bumble bee (Bombus impatiens) is an extremely important pollinator of many garden and greenhouse crops.
An important biological control of filth flies, the fly parasite lays eggs inside fly pupae, preventing them from emerging.
These small tan-colored mites (Hypoaspis aculeifer) seek out fungus gnat larvae in the soil and feed on their contents.
Besides aphids, lacewing larvae feed on soft-bodied insect pests, including mealybugs, spider mites, thrips and their eggs.
The most visible and best known of all beneficial insects. Adults and larvae feed on soft-bodied pests, mites and insect eggs.
A widespread parasitoid of leafminer larvae, (Diglyphus isaea) attacks and kills leaf miners inside the "mine."
The mealybug destroyer attacks all species of mealybugs and will feed on aphids and soft scale when mealybugs are scarce.
Both adult pirate bugs and nymphs feed by piercing pest insects with their "beak" and sucking out the body fluids.
A ferocious predator that attacks just about anything in its path; unfortunately this includes other beneficial insects.
Popular with indoor gardeners, the predatory mite is an important biological control of the two-spotted spider mite.
The spined soldier bug feeds by penetrating its prey with a harpoon-like proboscis and sucking out the body fluids.
A voracious predatory mite that moves quickly to capture its prey; the egg and larval stages of many thrips species.
An efficient destroyer of the eggs of more than 200 species of moths and butterflies which are leaf eaters in their larval stage.
This widely used parasitic wasp is the most cost effective biological control agent for greenhouse whiteflies.
Copyright © 2004-2012