It’s a Bug-Eat-Bug World

Gardening Tips for Fall Planting

Cool season vegetables should be planted right away to ensure good crops this fall. Pansies and snapdragons can be planted now to replace long, leggy annuals. They will provide color this fall, winter, and next spring.

First-year fruit trees need to be well-watered through dry weather. If neglected during their first year, they may never become strong, productive trees.

Lilac bushes will bloom better next spring if you reduce watering now.

Beneficial Insects in the Garden

Although insects are the main consumers of plants on Earth, many insects help control pests by preying on them. These beneficial insects act as predators, parasitoids, or pathogens.

• Lady Beetles (Ladybugs): Predatory insects attracted to plant nectar and pests like aphids, mites, thrips, and mealybugs. Adults eat mostly aphids, while larvae consume insect eggs, beetle larvae, and other soft-bodied insects. To encourage them, plant flowering varieties like daisies.
• Green Lacewing Larvae: Voracious predators of soft-bodied pests. Known as "Aphid Lions," each larva can eat up to 1,000 aphids per day. They attack eggs and immature stages of pests such as aphids, thrips, spider mites, whiteflies, mealybugs, leafhoppers, and moth caterpillars.
• Predatory Mites: Effective against spider mites, consuming about 7 adults, 20 juveniles, or 25 eggs per day. They work quickly on light infestations (2–3 weeks) but may require a second release for heavier infestations. They only feed on other mites, not plants.

Parasitoids and Pathogens

Parasitoids lay eggs in or on other insects, killing the host as larvae mature. Examples include:

• Fly Parasitoids: Attack termites, bees, ants, scales, slugs, snails, crickets, and caterpillars.
• Wasp Parasitoids: Tiny, non-stinging wasps that target beetles, leafhoppers, caterpillars, aphids, whiteflies, and true bugs. Most are species-specific.

Pathogens (bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa, and nematodes) can naturally control pests. For example:

• Bacillus thuringiensis (BT): A bacterium used to control leaf-eating caterpillars, particularly cabbage worms. Spray weekly for effective control on broccoli and cabbage.

Avoid killing every bug in your garden—many are helping keep your plants healthy.