Not all insects in your home or yard will be a problem. Some of them are beneficial – so try to avoid killing them. Here’s a list of the top beneficial insects in the house and yard.
There are around 7 billion humans on this earth. At the same time, there are 10 quintillion bugs sharing the earth with us. That is 10 and 18 zeroes beside it.
10 Beneficial Insects You’d Want in Your House and Garden
Insects like bees and butterflies help in pollinating flowers, which is essential for the healthy growth of your plants. Especially if you have fruit trees or a vegetable garden.
Earthworms have always been known to enhance the quality of the soil. While big bugs, like praying mantes, naturally feed on harmful insects. The following are some of the best insects to have around your house.
1. Butterfly
Butterflies are among the most popular insects because of their beauty and delicate fluttering movements. It’s actually a compliment to describe a beautiful person as resembling a butterfly. There are about 17,500 different types of butterflies worldwide, with 750 living in the US.
Besides their aesthetic value, butterflies are among the garden-friendly insects. The adults feed primarily on nectar. Which is the flowers’ way to get the bugs close enough to help with cross-pollination.
The younger phases of the butterflies, particularly the caterpillars, might feed on the plants themselves. But they’re not known to cause damages in a way that locusts might. Generally, butterflies are good for your garden.
2. Ladybug
Cartoons, animated movies, and children’s stories often contain depictions of ladybugs, also known as ladybirds. These amicable insects are among the big helpers of nature, and one of their strongest suits in pest control.
Ladybugs live from 3-6 weeks, and part of their life cycle involves laying their eggs inside various pest colonies. They seem to favor aphids though, and as they become fully grown, they could finish off around 5000 aphids.
These colorful cute-looking insects are quite resilient, and their bright colors signal to other predators that they need to back off. That’s because they secrete a substance that’s extremely distasteful. And if all else fails, they play dead.
Ladybugs are nice to have around the house, and if you have potted plants on the porch or indoor shade plants, they can take care of them too. They’d actually appreciate the shelter of your warm house in the cold wet season.
3. Praying Mantis
Mantises have relatively long lives and can survive up to one year in the wilderness. This pretty much points out their position in the food chain. They’re incredible hunters, with many physical adaptations that make them almost invincible.
These insects are effective pest-exterminators, but they might go a bit overboard. They’re known to show little discrimination where their meals are concerned. So they could eat other beneficial insects, hummingbirds, and even members of their own species.
4. Bee
Bees are generous insects that pollinate flowers and produce honey. Their existence is integral to the continuity of life on earth. And that’s not an over-dramatic statement, just ecology.
With many agricultural areas using insecticides, and forests turned into urbanized cities, the populations of bees dropped significantly. Luckily, backyard gardens attract bees and contribute to rebalancing their presence in nature.
Having bees around your house is definitely a good thing in more ways than one.
5. Earthworm
People are often grossed out by worms in general. However, once they get to know what earthworms can do to their soil and their plants, many change their minds.
The biggest benefit is that earthworms feed on plant remains and debris up to six feet deep in the soil. They digest this organic matter, and their casts are often rich in nutrients plus copious amounts of nitrogen. Plants absorb these substances readily and make good use of them.
Earthworms also aerate the soil, enhance its drainage properties, and stabilize its structure. These are all huge pluses to any ground.
6. Spider
People might not be enthused to find cobwebs in their houses, but a few hidden ones won’t hurt. And having a bunch of spiders around the garden certainly has its merits.
Spiders are expert bug hunters, and they often have a healthy appetite. They can go through hundreds of flies, aphids, moths, and other bugs every week. Plus, they are healthy procreators, so they multiply pretty quickly.
Garden spiders, wolf spiders, and orb weavers are all beneficial insects that you’d want to have in your yard. Well, they aren’t exactly insects, but rather arachnids, but that’s a small technicality.
7. Hoverfly
Hoverflies are characterized by black and yellow markings, much like wasps and bees. They don’t share their stinging habits though. They have the distinct habit of hovering over flowers, and that’s where their name comes from.
The larva of the hoverfly is the phase of interest to gardeners. At this stage of its growth, a single larva can consume hundreds of aphids. It sucks up the aphid’s bodily fluids and leaves it an empty shell. They’re also good at pollinating flowers, so that’s another plus.
There are several types of hoverflies that you might spot in your garden. Some are small and slender while others are large and hairy.
8. Ground Beetle
Ground beetles have a large global presence with 40,000 different species spread around the world. They are clever predators that feed on various types of pests. However, gardeners like the ones that eat up caterpillars and gypsy moths.
Some types of beetles, especially the ones with shiny metallic colors, secrete a highly acidic substance. This could cause a sensation like a burn if it comes in touch with human skin.
9. Dragonfly
Fossils of dragonflies go back to around 300 million years ago, and these parent insects were seriously large. Their wingspans could be as wide as 2 feet across. Contrary to that, modern-day dragonflies are cute little insects that are often made into artistic motifs.
They’re among the good insects that you’d want to have around your garden, as they eat a wide variety of flying insects. Both as larvae and as adults, dragonflies have voracious appetites, which come in handy while doing pest control.
10. Trichogramma Parasitic Wasp
These tiny insects grow inside the eggs of various pests, and as they grow, they wipe out the whole colony.
There are several types of Trichogramma parasitic wasps, and they’re particularly effective at eliminating stubborn worms like loopers, cabbage worms, corn earworm, tomatoes hornworm, and many other annoying caterpillars.
How to Keep the Beneficial Insects in Your Yard
Insects are just like us, they have needs. And if you can satisfy their requirements, then they’d stick around and help you out. Luckily, they only desire simple things.
Here are some tips to make your garden more inviting to beneficial insects.
- Avoid using pesticides as much as possible. And if you do, try to apply the spray or solution in a localized manner.
- Pick eco-friendly pesticides, if you can. Especially, the ones that target specific bugs rather than wide-range exterminators.
- Make sure there are always some blossoms in the garden. Biannuals and perennials like Siberian iris, creeping flox, and geraniums are good options.
- Tilling and cultivating the soil could be harsh on the good bugs that live underground. Earthworms especially suffer during these processes. Avoid hard soil treatment or at least make it infrequent.
Beneficial Insects – Conclusion
Not all insects are bad actors. In fact, most of them aren’t wicked at all, with 90% of the insects hopping about in your yard either beneficial insects or totally harmless creatures. And you can count on the good bugs for making your garden lush and healthy.
Pollination and soil aeration are among the perks of having good insects. On top of that, they eat up the bad insects. Learning the difference between both is essential. And so are the best ways to keep the beneficial insects in your house.
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