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!

GOOD BUGS- D-L GOOD BUGS- M-P GOOD BUGS- R-Z

BENEFICIAL INSECTS

[Antlion/doodlebug] 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
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floresville, tx 78114
info@basic-info-4-organic-fertilizers.com