Some Good Bugs

Ah yes, the ladybug! Most people have heard of their voracious appetite. Each one will eat an average of 45 aphids per day! They'll also eat other soft-bodied pests and their larvae. It is no wonder some people buy ladybugs to "plant" in their garden. If you choose to try this, be sure there are pests for them to prey upon, or else they'll move. Plant them when it is cool by placing them at the base of infested plants.

This is what the ladybug larva look like! You may be tempted, but don't squash them! They'll consume as heartily as the adults.

Now wait a minute.....

isn't that the tomato hornworm? You thought that was bad right? Well, not if it is covered like this one is. Those are the eggs of a parasitic wasp. That worm doesn't have a chance. If you let it live a bit longer (in containment if need be-after all, they'll consume a tomato plant in no time flat) you'll have a whole new army of parasitic wasps seeking out more pests in your garden. The adult wasps eat nectar, not your plants. The young are parasites to many garden pests. No competition for food between young and adult means the adults will continue to seek out pests to lay their eggs.

Lacewing

This delicate looking insect is just as hungry for aphids as the ladybug! I found one hiding in the corner of my kitchen one day. When I tried to move it towards the window so it would fly to the garden just outside, it let out a strange odor.

Praying Mantis

Mighty guard! Eats various insect eggs, aphids, beetles, grasshoppers grubs and moths. It is so valued by many gardeners that each fall while cleaning out their gardens, they search for mantis egg cases. It holds hundreds of eggs!