Beneficial Insects
From Antivist
A garden insectary is a small garden plot of flowering plants designed to attract and harbor beneficial insects. These "good insects" prey on many common garden insect pests and offer the gardener a safer, natural alternative to pesticides.
The garden insectary is a form of "companion planting," based on the positive attributes plants can share in deterring pests, acquiring nutrients, or attracting natural predators. By becoming more diverse with your plantings, you're providing habitat, picture of predatory wasp shelter, and alternative food sources (such as pollen and nectar), something many predators need as part of their diet.
Your insectary plot does not have to be large, just big enough to hold six to seven varieties of plants that attract insects. Once the garden has matured, you can watch your personal security force of beneficial insects do the work for you.
Contents |
Natural Pest Control by Insect Species
| Pest Insect | Predator Insect |
| Aphids | Aphidius |
| Aphids | Aphidoletes |
| Thrips, spidermites, fungus gnats | Beneficial mites |
| Eggs of many pest insects | Damsel bugs (Nabidae) |
| Whiteflies, aphids, thrip, spider mites | Dicyphus |
| Slugs, small caterpillars and grubs | Ground beetles |
| Grubs | Spring Tiphia wasp |
| Aphids, mealybugs and others | Hoverflies |
| Scale, aphids, mites, soft-bodied insects | Lacewings |
| Aphids, mites | Ladybugs |
| Thrips, aphids, mites, scales, whiteflies | Pirate bugs |
| Caterpillars; beetle and fly larvae | Tachinid flies |
| Whiteflies; moth, beetle and fly larvae | Parasitic wasps |
What to Plant to Attract Beneficial Insects (Predator Insects)
| Predator Insect | What to Plant (Insectary Plant) |
| Lacewings, aphidius, ladybugs | Achillea filipendulina |
| Hoverflies | Alyssum |
| Ground beetles | Amaranthus |
| Spring Tiphia wasp | Peonies, firethorn, forsythia |
| Ichneumon wasp, ladybugs, lacewings | Anethum graveolens (dill) |
| Lacewings | Angelica gigas |
| Ladybugs, hoverflies | Convolvulus minor |
| Hoverflies, parasitic wasps, lacewings | Cosmos bipinnatus |
| Dicyphus | Digitalis |
| Lacewings, ladybugs, hoverflies | Daucus carota (Queen Anne's lace) |
| Damsel bugs, ladybugs, lacewings | Foeniculum vulgare (fennel) |
| Pirate bugs, beneficial mites | Helianthus annulus |
| Hoverflies | Iberis umbellata |
| Hoverflies, parasitic wasps | Limonium latifolium (Statice) |
| Aphidius, aphidoletes, hoverflies | Lupin |
| Parasitic wasps, tachinid flies | Melissa officinalis (lemon balm) |
| Parasitic wasps, hoverflies, tachinid flies | Petroselinum crispum (parsley) |
| Pirate bugs, beneficial mites | Shasta daisy |
| Pirate bugs, aphidius | Sunflowers |
| Ladybugs, lacewings | Tanacetum vulgare (tansy) |
| Dicyphus | Verbascum thaspus |
Tips and Suggestions for Your Garden Insectary
- Intersperse vegetable beds with rows or islands of insectary annuals. This will add decorative elements to your vegetable beds while luring beneficial insects toward prey.
- Allow some of your salad and cabbage crops to bloom. Brassica flowers (cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, bok choy) are also appreciated.
- Include plants of different heights in your insectary. Ground beetles require the cover provided by low-growing plants such as thyme, rosemary, or mint. Lacewings lay their eggs in shady, protected areas, so providing such places near crop plants is a good idea.
- Tiny flowers produced in large quantity are much more valuable than a single, large bloom. Large, nectar-filled blooms actually can drown tiny parasitoid wasps.
- Members of the Umbelliferae family are excellent insectary plants. Fennel, angelica, coriander, dill, and wild carrot all produce the tiny flowers required by parasitoid wasps.
- Composite flowers (daisy and chamomile) and mints (spearmint, peppermint, or catnip) will attract predatory wasps, hover flies, and robber flies.
General Gardening Advice for Attracting Bees and Other Pollinators
1. Don’t use pesticides. Most pesticides are not selective. You are killing off the beneficial bugs along with the pests. If you must use a pesticide, start with the least toxic one and follow the label instructions to the letter.
2. Use local native plants. Research suggests native plants are four times more attractive to native bees than exotic flowers. They are also usually well adapted to your growing conditions and can thrive with minimum attention. In gardens, heirloom varieties of herbs and perennials can also provide good foraging.
3. Chose several colors of flowers. Bees have good color vision to help them find flowers and the nectar and pollen they offer. Flower colors that particularly attract bees are blue, purple, violet, white, and yellow.
4. Plant flowers in clumps. Flowers clustered into clumps of one species will attract more pollinators than individual plants scattered through the habitat patch. Where space allows, make the clumps four feet or more in diameter.
5. Include flowers of different shapes. There are four thousand different species of bees in North America, and they are all different sizes, have different tongue lengths, and will feed on different shaped flowers. Consequently, providing a range of flower shapes means more bees can benefit.
6. Have a diversity of plants flowering all season. Most bee species are generalists, feeding on a range of plants through their life cycle. By having several plant species flowering at once, and a sequence of plants flowering through spring, summer, and fall, you can support a range of bee species that fly at different times of the season.
7. Plant where bees will visit. Bees favor sunny spots over shade and need some shelter from strong winds.
Perennial Flowers and Herbs
Anise Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) -- Edible, licorice-flavored leaves for tea. Spikes of blue flowers attract bees, butterflies and beneficial insects. Blooms the first year from seed.
Basket of Gold (Alyssum montanum, Alyssum saxatile) -- The bright yellow flowers bloom in May, providing an early food source for ladybugs and hoverflies.
Bronze Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare 'Purpureum') -- Handsome bronze foliage. The flowers attract lacewings, ladybugs, hoverflies, parasitic mini-wasps and butterflies, and the foliage feeds swallowtail butterfly larvae. Freshly-ground fennel seeds are great for sausage and spagghetti sauce, and the leaves are used in fish dishes.
Catnip (Nepeta) -- Attracts bees, butterflies and beneficial insects. There are both edible and ornamental varieties.
Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) -- Leaves and flower buds are used in recipes. Makes a nice edging. Deadhead to prevent excessive self-sowing. Attracts bees and butterflies like crazy.
Garlic Chives (Allium tuberosum) -- The flowers attract bees and beneficial insects. The leaves have a nice, strong garlic flavor. Chives and garlic chives make good companion plants for roses because they repel aphids.
Golden Marguerite (Anthemis tinctoria) -- The daisy-like flowers attract lacewings, ladybugs, hoverflies, tachinid flies and parasitic mini-wasps.
Hesperis matronalis (Dame's Rocket) -- Pretty purple or white flowers. The young leaves are edible. Attracts bees and butterflies.
Lavender 'Lady' (Lavandula angustifolia) -- A nice compact lavender for the herb garden. The flowers attract hoverflies and bees. The fragrant foliage is used in potpourri. Blooms the first year from seed.
Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis) -- The lemon-flavored leaves make a good tea. The tiny flowers attract hoverflies, tachinid flies and parasitic mini-wasps.
Lemon Bee Balm (Monarda citriodora) -- Like the name says, it attracts bees like crazy. The lemon-scented leaves are edible, and the flowers attract butterflies and hummingbirds.
Parsley (Petroselinum crispum) -- The umbel flowers attract hoverflies, tachinid flies and parasitic wasps. Parsley is a favorite food of Eastern black swallowtail butterfly larvae.
Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) -- This perennial wildflower is sometimes listed as an herb because the roots are used in herbal medicine as an immune stimulant. The flowers attract bees and butterflies.
Red Valerian (Centranthus ruber) -- Attracts butterflies and beneficial insects. The young leaves and roots are edible.
Rocky Mountain Penstemon (Penstemon strictus) -- Lovely spikes of blue flowers in June and July. Attracts ladybugs, hoverflies, hummingbirds and bees.
Sage (Salvia sp.) -- There are many forms of sage, including culinary sage. They all attract bees and butterflies, and some species attract hummingbirds.
Speedwell (Veronica spicata) -- Attracts ladybugs and hoverflies.
Thyme (Thymus sp.) -- Attracts bees, hoverflies, tachinid flies and parasitic mini-wasps.
Viola -- I let these self-sow wherever they like. They don't disturb the vegetables, and the edible flowers make nice cake decorations.
Yarrow (Achillia sp.) -- Attracts ladybugs, hoverflies and parasitic mini-wasps.
Perennials:
Buckwheat (Eriogonum) -
Yellow, white, pink and rose flowers on 1 - 4 ft. plants; blooms May - Oct. or later. Attracts pirate bugs.
Common Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) -
Soft, fernlike foliage and yellow, flat flowers on 3 - 5 ft. plants; blooms April - Nov. Attracts ladybugs, lacewings, paper wasps and soldier bugs.
Coreopsis (Coreopsis sp.) -
Yellow, orange and maroon flowers on 1 - 3 ft. plants; blooms May - Sept. Attracts parasitoid wasps, ladybugs and lacewings.
Crown Pink (Lychnis coronaria) -
Soft, gray foliage on 2 ft. plants; magenta, pink and white flowers; blooms April - Aug. Attracts parasitoid wasps.
Rue (Ruta graveolens) -
Blue-gray foliage and small yellow flowers on 2 - 3 ft. plants; blooms in early Summer. Attracts parasitoid wasps and potter wasps.
Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) -
Yellow flowers and fernlike foliage on 2 - 3 ft. plants; blooms Jun - July. Attracts parasitoid wasps, ladybugs, lacewings and pirate bugs.
Yarrow (Achillea) -
Pink, yellow, red , lavender and white flowers on plants from few inches to 3 feet tall; blooms April - Sept. Attracts parasitoid wasps, ladybugs, damsel bugs and big-eyed bugs.
Plants That Attract Beneficial Insects
LACEWINGS (Chrysopa spp.)
Beautiful little green or brown insects with large lacy wings. Individual white eggs are found laid on the ends of inch-long stiff threads. It is the larvae (which look like little alligators) that destroy most of the pests. They are sometimes called aphid lions for their habit of dining on aphids. They also feed on mites, other small insects and insect eggs.
The lacewing, which is also attracted to well-lit windows and screens on spring and summer evenings.
Plants that attract lacewings:
Achillea filipendulina Fern-leaf yarrow
Anethum graveolens Dill
Angelica gigas Angelica
Anthemis tinctoria Golden marguerite
Atriplex canescens Four-wing saltbush
Callirhoe involucrata Purple poppy mallow
Carum Carvi Caraway
Coriandrum sativum Coriander
Cosmos bipinnatus Cosmos white sensation
Daucus Carota Queen Anne's lace
Foeniculum vulgare Fennel
Helianthus maximilianii Prairie sunflower
Tanacetum vulgare Tansy
Taraxacum officinale Dandelion
LADYBUGS
Recognized when they are adults by most gardeners. However, the young larvae, black with orange markings, eat more pests than the adults, and they can't fly. Yellowish eggs are laid in clusters usually on the undersides of leaves.
Plants that attract ladybugs:
Achillea filipendulina Fern-leaf yarrow
Achillea millefolium Common yarrow
Ajuga reptans Carpet bugleweed
Alyssum saxatilis Basket of Gold
Anethum graveolens Dill
Anthemis tinctoria Golden marguerite
Asclepias tuberosa Butterfly weed
Atriplex canescens Four-wing saltbush
Coriandrum sativum Coriander
Daucus Carota Queen Anne's lace
Fagopyrum esculentum Buckwheat
Foeniculum vulgare Fennel
Helianthus maximilianii Prairie sunflower
Penstemon strictus Rocky Mt. penstemon
Potentilla recta 'warrenii' Sulfur cinquefoil
Potentilla villosa Alpine cinquefoil
Tagetes tenuifolia Marigold - lemon gem
Tanacetum vulgare Tansy
Taraxacum officinale Dandelion
Veronica spicata Spike speedwell
Vicia villosa Hairy vetch
HOVERFLIES
Also known as syrphid fly, hover fly or flower fly. Adults look like little bees that hover over and dart quickly away. They don't sting! They lay eggs (white, oval, laid singly or in groups on leaves) which hatch into green, yellow, brown, orange, or white half-inch maggots that look like caterpillars. They raise up on their hind legs to catch and feed on aphids, mealybugs and others.
Plants that attract hoverflies:
Achillea filipendulina Fern-leaf yarrow
Achillea millefolium Common yarrow
Ajuga reptans Carpet bugleweed
Allium tanguticum Lavender globe lily
Alyssum saxatilis Basket of Gold
Anethum graveolens Dill
Anthemis tinctoria Golden marguerite
Aster alpinus Dwarf alpine aster
Astrantia major Masterwort
Atriplex canescens Four-wing saltbush
Callirhoe involucrata Purple poppy mallow
Carum Carvi Caraway
Chrysanthemum parthenium Feverfew
Coriandrum sativum Coriander
Cosmos bipinnatus Cosmos white sensation
Daucus Carota Queen Anne's lace
Fagopyrum esculentum Buckwheat
Foeniculum vulgare Fennel
Lavandula angustifolia English lavender
Limnanthes douglasii Poached egg plant
Limonium latifolium Statice
Linaria vulgaris Butter and eggs
Lobelia erinus Edging lobelia
Lobularia maritima Sweet alyssum - white
Melissa officinalis Lemon balm
Mentha pulegium Pennyroyal
Mentha spicata Spearmint
Monarda fistulosa Wild bergamot
Penstemon strictus Rocky Mt. penstemon
Petroselinum crispum Parsley
Potentilla recta 'warrenii' Sulfur cinquefoil
Potentilla villosa Alpine cinquefoil
Rudbeckia fulgida Gloriosa daisy
Sedum kamtschaticum Orange stonecrop
Sedum spurium & album Stonecrops
Solidago virgaurea Peter Pan goldenrod
Stachys officinalis Wood betony
Tagetes tenuifolia Marigold - lemon gem
Thymus serpylum coccineus Crimson thyme
Veronica spicata Spike speedwell
Zinnia elegans Zinnia - liliput
PARASITIC MINI-WASPS
Parasites of a variety of insects. They do not sting! The stingers have been adapted to allow the females to lay their eggs in the bodies of insect pests. The eggs then hatch, and the young feed on the pests from the inside, killing them. After they have killed the pests, they leave hollow "mummies."
Braconid wasps feed on moth, beetle and fly larvae, moth eggs, various insect pupae and adults. If you see lots of white capsules on the backs of a caterpillar, these are the braconid cocoons--leave the dying caterpillar alone!
Ichneumonid wasps control moth, butterfly, beetle and fly larvae and pupae. Trichogramma wasps lay their eggs in the eggs of moths (hungry caterpillars-to-be), killing them and turning them black.
The black dot in the middle of the picture is an emerging encarsia wasp, which is hatching out of an immature stage of a (now dead) whitefly. The wasp lays its eggs onto young whiteflies.
Plants that attract parasitic mini-wasps:
Achillea filipendulina Fern-leaf yarrow
Achillea millefolium Common yarrow
Allium tanguticum Lavender globe lily
Anethum graveolens Dill
Anthemis tinctoria Golden marguerite
Astrantia major Masterwort
Callirhoe involucrata Purple poppy mallow
Carum Carvi Caraway
Coriandrum sativum Coriander
Cosmos bipinnatus Cosmos white sensation
Daucus Carota Queen Anne's lace
Foeniculum vulgare Fennel
Limonium latifolium Statice
Linaria vulgaris Butter and eggs
Lobelia erinus Edging lobelia
Lobularia maritima Sweet alyssum - white
Melissa officinalis Lemon balm
Mentha pulegium Pennyroyal
Petroselinum crispum Parsley
Potentilla recta 'warrenii' Sulfur cinquefoil
Potentilla villosa Alpine cinquefoil
Sedum kamtschaticum Orange stonecrop
Tagetes tenuifolia Marigold - lemon gem
Tanacetum vulgare Tansy
Thymus serpylum coccineus Crimson thyme
Zinnia elegans Zinnia - liliput
TACHINID FLIES
Parasites of caterpillars (corn earworm, imported cabbage worm, cabbage looper, cutworms, armyworms), stink bug, squash bug nymphs, beetle and fly larvae, some true bugs, and beetles. Adults are 1/3 to 1/2 inch long. White eggs are deposited on foliage or on the body of the host (in the picture below, the tachinid fly is approaching the larvae of an elm leaf beetle). Larvae are internal parasites, feeding within the body of the host, sucking its body fluids to the point the pest dies.
Plants that attract tachinid flies:
Anthemis tinctoria Golden marguerite
Fagopyrum esculentum Buckwheat
Melissa officinalis Lemon balm
Mentha pulegium Pennyroyal
Petroselinum crispum Parsley
Phacelia tanacetifolia Phacelia
Tanacetum vulgare Tansy
Thymus serpyllum coccineus Crimson thyme
MINUTE PIRATE BUGS (Orius spp.)
Tiny (1/20 inch long) bugs that feed on almost any small insect or mite, including thrips, aphids, mites, scales, whiteflies and soft-bodied arthropods, but are particularly attracted to thrips in spring.
DAMSEL BUGS (Nabis spp.)
Feed on aphids, leafhoppers, plant bugs, and even small caterpillars as adults and nymphs (teenagers). They are usually dull brown and resemble other plant bugs that are pests. Their heads are usually longer and narrower then most plant feeding species (the better to eat with).
BIG EYED BUGS (Geocoris spp.)
Small (1/4 inch long), grayish-beige, oval shaped) bugs with large eyes that feed on many small insects (e.g., leaf hoppers, spider mites), insect eggs, and mites, as both nymphs and adults. Eggs are football shaped, whitish-gray with red spots.
Plants that attract minute pirate bugs, damsel bugs and big eyed bugs:
Carum Carvi Caraway
Cosmos bipinnatus Cosmos - white sensation
Foeniculum vulgare Fennel
Medicago sativa Alfalfa
Mentha spicata Spearmint
Solidago virgaurea Peter Pan goldenrod
Tagetes tenuifolia Marigold - lemon gem
