I've heard and seen a lot about the pests which can ruin your prized plants. But what about the ones which benefit your garden? Just off the top of my head I'm thinking about all the insects etc. which prey on pests. Lady bugs - So pretty and eat nasty aphids. Garden spiders - Webs might be unsightly though. Lacewings - Only seen these rarely. Praying Mantis - Pretty rare too. Wasps - Yeah they'll sting you, but, they kill a lot of bugs. Bees - Some vegetables & fruits won't grow without these gals Dragonflies - Please come and eat all the bad critters. Thanks Now off all the bad ones, these are the ones which I hate: Aphids - Make my rose bushes grow poorly. Scale - Brown scales all over my euonymus bushes Spider mites - Get these when it's dry. Japanese beetles - Eat up my roses if the aphids didn't already get to them first. :twisted:
My worst enemy is the Lilioceris lilii or scarlet lily beetle. It's actually showing up already, and I'm killing it on sight.
Looks formidable :twisted: We had lilies here but I've never seen those bright red beetles before. good luck!
Trouble is the birds or good bugs never touch them, so it's all up to us humans to get rid of them. And I think I'm the only one around here waging war on them. *sigh* They can eat a huge lily stalk very quickly. Leaves, blooms and large parts of the stalk.
We get those lily beetles here too Droopy. I hate finding them on my plants and squish them as soon as I spot them. However, it's their larvae that I detest the most as they cover themselves in their own poo to hide from birds. I make sure I use disposable gloves when I remove them as they are really disgusting.
I love all the good bugs you listed. Last week, while on a job, I found several Praying Mantis egg sacks attached to old rose canes we were pruning. I brought them home and put them into my garden hoping the little ones will hatch here! One other bad guy I battle : Slugs (hate em)
