Question
What are some good predatory insects to have in the garden and how do I get them to stay there?
Dave
Oakland
Answer
Probably the best commercially available beneficial insect is the lady bug. If your garden is plagued with a good infestation of aphids and whitefly, the beetles will stay and lay eggs. The real eaters of the pests are baby beetles which resemble little black alligators. The adult beetles feed mostly on pollen and nectars so it is important to have a reliable food source to keep them around. Choose plants such as Achillea, flowering dill and fennel, most of the daisy type plants.
Good bugs to encourage are lacewings, soldier beetles, small parasitic wasps, and hover flies. Planting plenty of white alyssum along with daisy type plants such as feverfew, marguerite daisy, and zinnia will attract the adults. Wasps are attracted to hormones released by the pest attacked plants. These hormones can be mimicked with catnip and Nepeta mint. I suggest you invest in one of the handy, inexpensive ($5.99) Mac's Field Guides for Beneficial and Bad bugs. It is a good starting place to begin learning about bugs.
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