COUNTRY GARDENING Not all insects are a threat in the garden By Trisha Gedon Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service
Ladybugs are a great addition to the garden because they eat aphids, which can cause a lot of plant damage. Photo by Todd Johnson, OSU Agricultural Communications Services.
hen gardeners see insects in the garden, they often fear these multilegged creatures will chew and chomp their way through the landscape and leave a trail of destruction in their wake. While there are some insects capable of such damage in a garden – including aphids, cutworms and caterpillars – many insects are actually beneficial and are found anywhere from below the soil surface to the tree canopy, said David Hillock, Oklahoma State University Extension consumer horticulturist. 46 — Oklahoma Country
“Gardeners obviously don’t want to offer insects a delicious salad bar, but before applying insecticides at the first sign of insects or arthropods, take the time to find out exactly what insects are calling your garden and landscape home,” Hillock said. “Most of the insects found in the landscape aren’t going to harm your plants. In fact, most of them are predators and serve a variety of important functions in the garden, such as pollinating plants or eating the insects that cause damage.” Species such as flies, bees, butterflies
and moths help gardens grow by pollinating crops. Other beneficial insects are predators, including the easily recognizable lady beetle, also known as a ladybug. Both adult and larval lady beetles feed on small, soft-bodied insects. The well-known red and orange species feed primarily on aphids. Other predatory insects include the green lacewing, damsel bug, praying mantis, syrphid fly, bigeyed bug, assassin bug, spined soldier bug, paper wasp, cicada killer, minute pirate bug and even some species of spiders.