Bugs that are good for the garden.
Ladybirds may appear to be beautiful and harmless but, in fact, they are ferocious predators with a voracious appetite for sap-sucking insects. Aphids and other sap-sucking insects are common in our gardens, feeding in large colonies on the plant juices of the new buds and shoots on roses, fruit trees and other plants. You can tell there…
Leafcutter bees are one of the most fascinating insects in the garden. You will probably never see them but you will definitely know that they have visited by the intricate holes that they cut in the leaves. It almost looks like someone has used a paper holepunch on the rose bushes! Some gardeners get very…
Bees aren’t just good bugs, they are great bugs! Ok, so they sting, and that hurts, but these are one of the most important creatures on earth since without them, many of our plants wouldn’t get pollinated and then we wouldn’t have food. European honey bees, which are the orange and black ones that we see…
Hover flies are also known as flower flies because they are seen hovering over them in the garden. They have sponge-like mouths and they feed on nectar and pollen from open flowers such as daisies. They are good bugs in the garden because they are attracted to the sweet excretion or honeydew of sap sucking insects such as…
Earthworms are the slippery, slithery creatures that can be found in healthy garden soil that has had a lot of manure and compost added to it. They are great for the soil because, as they burrow through it, they digest the larger pieces so that when it comes out the other end it is much…