Bugs: Bad Guys / Good Guys

Good Guys

• Beneficial Insects 101

We all know the bad guys — let me introduce you to some of the good guys: beneficial insects.  Beneficial insects are key to our survival.  Like a hand grenade tossed in a crowd, indiscriminate use of pesticides kills not only the insects damaging crops but beneficials as well.  Think of it as killing off your allies in the war to protect your garden.  Why would you want to do that?

Since 1945, chemical pesticide use in the United States has grown tenfold in both amount and toxicity; however, the share of crop yields lost to insects has nearly doubled during the same period. (David Pimentel, 1991).

It is time to get rid of the “destroy everything approach” and recruit the beneficials to our side. We hope this site will give you some better ideas on how to address those pests munching on your lettuce — in a way — that is safe for the environment, your kids, and the beneficials.

Here is a list of beneficials (sometimes called pollinators).  Be on the look out for them and invite them to stay.

• Good Guys Field Guide – Don’t kill these!!  Print out a pocket guide with mug shots so you know who is helping you patrol the garden for the bad guys.  (OSU) 
  • Bees are beneficial as pollinators, facilitating propagation and fruitproduction for many plants.  Some bees are predatory or parasitic, and kill pest insects.  This group includes not only honeybees, but also many other kinds that are more efficient at pollinating.  Attract bees to your garden by planting flowering plants, honeybees like bee balm and pineapple sage.  Predatory bees like queen anne’s lace and parsley.
    
  • Ladybugs are generally thought of as beneficial because they eat large quantities of aphids, mites and other insects that feed on various plants.
  • Minute pirate bug
  • Big eyed-bug
  • Assassin bug
  • Damsel bug
  • Mealybug destroyer
  • Soldier beetle
  • Green lacewing
  • Syrphid fly
  • Tachinid fly
  • Ichneumon wasp
  • Trichogramma wasp

Attractive plants

Plants that attract “Good Guys” are in the Apiaceae family (Parsley) and Asteraceae family (this is the largest group of flowering plants and includes herbs, shrubs, and less commonly trees.  Consider planting some of these.

• Plants that Attact Good Guys – This article from California, ‘Plants That Attract Beneficial Insects’, has pictures and drawings of insects that are common to the Pacific Northwest (WSU Clark County Extension Site).