Beneficial Insects M-P—From Marsh Fly to
Predatory Soil Mite

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This page is the third page of four in the long list of beneficial insects found in gardens, lawns and fields.

Beneficial Insects A-C | Beneficial Insects D-L | Beneficial Insects R-Z

Beneficial Insects M-P

Marsh Fly

• These flies are bugs that are slender, yellow brown in color with red eyes


• Have long antennae and spotted wings


• They are pollinators and prey on small snails

Mason Bee

• They are active pollinators between apple blossom and cherry blossom season


• Mason bees resemble house flies more than honey bees and are smaller


• These beneficial bugs are a dark blue black with no stripes

Mealybug Destroyer

• As the name implies loves mealybugs, both adult and larvae


• They will lay their eggs in a mealybug egg mass letting the new larvae feed on immature mealybugs

Minute Pirate Bug

• Feeds mainly on spider mites, caterpillars, thrips and other insects and their eggs


• Adults are about 1/4 inch long


• Bodies are silver and black with the tips of their wings are black resembling a pirate flag, hence the name


• These beneficial bugs are excellent hunters and will kill more than they can eat

Mud Dauber

• Mud dauber has other names like dirt dauber, dirt dobber, dirt diver or mud wasp.


• These beneficial bugs are the main predator of the black and brown widow spiders.


• The muddy nests of mud-daubers are a periodic nuisance to some homeowners, but the wasps are not assertive or hazardous.


• A kind of parasitic wasps attack mud-dauber nests, they steal provisions and offspring as food for their young.

• solid black organ pipe mud dauber


• black and yellow mud dauber


• irridescent blue mud dauber

Parasitic Wasp

• These wasps are so small that you will not even notice them, less than 1/8 inch


• 1600 species in North America


• The many different species will eat aphids, whiteflies, butterflies or moths, leafminers, scales, cabbage loopers and horworms

Phorid Fly (top part of the image)

• They decapitate fire ants


• They are very small, the image above has the fly enlarged.


• They are from South America and are under research here in the USA.


• May be helpful against leafcutter ants also.

Praying Mantis

• Praying Mantises will eat insects and other invertebrates such as other praying mantises, grasshoppers, crickets, spiders, butterflies, and beetles


• Also eat vertebrates such as lizards, mice, tree frogs, hummingbirds>/li>
  
• Know by Praying Mantis, Praying Mantids or Praying Mantises


• At least 2,000 species of Praying Mantis and are carnivorous insects


• Camouflage is very important to these insects. Most are pea green or brown but may be light green to pink


• Only insect that can turn it's head 180 degrees side to side


• The female will lay anywhere from 12 to 400 eggs usually in the fall of the year

Predatory Mite

• Adults are about 1/2 millimeter in length


• Are beige to reddish tan in color


• They can consume up 5 to 10 spider mites and citrus mites or 20 eggs a day

Predatory Soil Mite

• Feeds on soil living insects, mites, fungus gnat and all stages of springtails


• They are very small- 1/20 inch

Nosema and nematodes aren't insects, but they all do battle against pests in your garden.

Nosema Locustae

• A single-celled protozoan that kills over 90 species of grasshoppers, locusts, and some species of crickets


• Not harmful to humans, livestock, and pets


• Capable of reproducing through infestation of grasshoppers. Should cycle itself if pests are present

Beneficial Nematode

• A small organism that attacks at least 21 different insects, depending on the nematode species used


• Not harmful to humans, livestock, and pets


• Needs moist, warm soil

Beneficial Insects A-C | Beneficial Insects D-L | Beneficial Insects R-Z

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