Attracting Beneficial Insects
To lure good bugs to your garden, first get to know the players, then give them the right habitat
by Joe Queirolo
When nature is in balance, you'll find a mixture of good and bad insects in your garden. A close look at the underside of a cabbage leaf reveals a whitefly infestation, hover fly eggs, and a hover fly larva, in the center, getting to work on those whiteflies.
It happens every spring. First a few aphids appear on the cole crops. I barely notice. A week later the aphids have doubled. I start to get concerned. After another week the number has grown again. Should I panic? Reach for the soap spray? Will my helpers come to my aid again this year? And then, one morning, there they are, lady beetles wandering among the aphids, dining contentedly. In a few days there's hardly an aphid to be found. I'm always amazed that the lady beetles come in such numbers, and at the right time. And they always do the job.
© 2012 The Taunton Press, Inc. All rights reserved.
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