Chumasande MatiwaneIn the garden, creatures are free to prey on each other; the biological cycle plays out in your very garden. If you see these good bugs in and around your garden, know that they are beneficial to your garden’s ecosystem.
Praying mantis
Mantid insects camouflage themselves so well in surrounding vegetation that you won’t be able to notice them. With their compound eyes and large heads, which can rotate 180˚, they can see very well and will use their powerful legs to catch prey with lightning speed. These bugs will use their mandibles to eat their prey alive—the praying mantis diets on flies, beetles and aphids in your garden.
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Dragonflies
With their huge eyes, these bugs share the excellent sight ability with the mantids. The adults are energetic daytime predators hunting for small insects. They usually chase down their prey and hold it fast between their bristled legs, and eat in flight, as it is the safest place. Dragonflies are, in fact, such busy little insects that they even mate and complete their life cycles while in flight. Having dragonflies in your garden means fewer mosquitoes, flies, beetles, moths, and any other insects they can grab.
Ladybird
Ladybirds in your garden are such joys to have, not only for their beauty but for their killer instincts. Brightly marked in black and red or yellow, this dome-shaped aphid eater hibernates in rotten logs and under rocks in winter and becomes active in spring and summer. Once their yellow eggs have been laid close to food sources, these bugs have interesting habits, such as playing dead or excreting a foul-tasting fluid from the joints in their legs to discourage predators. With ladybirds in your garden, say goodbye to aphids and scale insects.
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Assassin bugs
Assassin bugs look like a strange mix of praying mantis and a squash bug. They use their sharp mouthparts to prey on many different types of insect pests in the garden. They can be mistaken for squash bugs in their adult form, so look carefully before you squish.
Remember when dealing with insects, avoid resorting to using chemical pesticides, as these will kill good and bad bugs alike. The so-called natural pesticides can also kill many beneficial insects.
ALSO SEE: NATURAL WAYS TO KEEP INSECTS OUT OF YOUR HOME
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