BENEFICIAL INSECTS A-C
Here is a list of the most common beneficial insects that I know of. Getting to know
these insects is a must if you are actively taking care of your garden, lawn and flower beds.
Just like any other form of life there are good and bad insects. The bad like grasshoppers and
aphids will totally destroy anything you plant and it is a good idea to know what is destroying
those plants. The beneficial insects are ladybugs and dragonflies which live on the bad insects. So we
need to be able to identify the good, bad, and the ugly(whoops that's me). Through experience
and making a few mistakes we can keep those roses, apple trees and blackberries flourishing,
but we have to know what we are doing. This page is not the everything you need to know but a
teaser to get you started thinking about what happens when you go out and spray those bugs. By
the way there are natural ways to get rid of those bad insects and most will leave the good
guys alone.
This site will have beneficial insect ID pictures soon!
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GOOD BUGS- D-L
GOOD BUGS- M-P
GOOD BUGS- R-Z
BENEFICIAL INSECTS
ANT LION/DOODLEBUG
Prey on many insects which are captured in their pits of 1 1/2 to 2 inches in
diameter
Similar to dragonflies but are fragile and poor fliers
APHIDOLETES
Adults are about 1/16 inch long, a very small fly
Almost entirely feeds on aphids
The females lay 100 to 200 eggs near aphid colonies where the larvae will eat their way to
adulthood
ASSASSIN BUG
May be confused with the squash bug
A viracious predator of flies, mosquitos, beetles and large caterpillars
This beneficial insect is about 1/2 inch long with a narrow elongated head
Assassin bugs range from brownish green to dark brown
BACILLUS THURINGIENSIS--MOSQUITOS DUNKS
Used in commercial mosquito dunks placed in water and eaten by mosquitos
BALD FACED HORNET
Noted as beneficial insect hawks because they pounce many pests including crane flies and other flies
They are excellent pollinators
They resemble yellow jackets but are a little bit larger--up to 3/4 inch long
Have extra large heads with black and white markings, wings extend to the end of their abdomen
WILL STING HUMANS IF ANNOYED
BENEFICIAL NEMATODES
An underestimated beneficial insect, they are microscopic in size
They are effective against white grubs, Japanese Beetle grub, Northern Masked Chafer,
European Chafer, Rose Chafer, fly larvae, Oriental Beetles, June beetles, Flea beetles,
cutworms, armyworms,black vine weevils, strawberry root weevils, fungus gnats, sciarid larvae,
sod webworms, girdler, citrus maggot, fleas, ants, and carrot weevils,termites, german
cockroaches,iris borer, root maggot and cabbage root maggot
Will infest and kill their prey in 24 to 48 hours and will continue to reproduce as long as
there is food
Control crop-deforming root-knot nematodes with Beneficial Sf Nematodes.Click here.
BIGEYED BUGS
This beneficial insect feeds mainly on caterpillars, aphids, mites, chinch bugs and other pests and their
eggs
Found on soil surface preying on many small insects
Bigeyed bugs are small 1/8 to 1/4 inches
Have very large eyes and clear wings, black and silver in color
Bodies are stout and somewhat flat
BRACONID PARASITE
Resemble the Ichneumonid wasps but braconid are more stout and are black
They parasitize many different insects like aphids, caterpillars, weevil larvae, flies,
true bugs, sawflies and other larvae
Over 1700 species in North America
BUMBLE BEE
Noted for being great pollinators
These beneficial insects are about 1 inch in length and are black and yellow
A queen bee can lay 8 to 12 eggs in nests in the ground, empty mouse burrows and discarded
mattresses
CENTIPEDE
Have 1 leg per segment and are usually brown to black
Can be 1/2 to 3 inches in length
This beneficial insect feeds on slugs, worms and fly pupae
GOOD BUGS- D-L
GOOD BUGS- M-P
GOOD BUGS- R-Z
jim ellison enterprises
342 broken arrow
floresville, tx 78114
info@basic-info-4-organic-fertilizers.com
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