Forget the bats, spiders, and black cats. If you want to learn about some truly spooky creatures this Halloween, keep reading!
Many people are familiar with insect predators, like lady beetles/ladybugs, that eat other insects. But not many know about another type of good bug or “natural enemy”—parasitoids. These creepy insects can help reduce pest populations by parasitizing them.
What is a parasitoid?
Parasites such as fleas and ticks live and feed on their host without killing it. Parasitoids are like parasites but DO eventually kill their host....
- Author: Lauren Fordyce
There are many types of “good bugs” commonly found in the garden or landscape. In integrated pest management (IPM) we refer to “good bugs” as “natural enemies” or “beneficial organisms”. Natural enemies can include insects, but also mites, pathogens, and vertebrates like birds and lizards. They can kill or reduce pest populations by feeding directly on the pest, parasitizing the pest, or infecting the pest with a pathogen, reducing the need for pesticides.
Keep an eye out for the common natural enemies listed below and learn to recognize their egg and immature stages too!
- Author: Lauren Fordyce
The multicolored Asian lady beetle, Harmonia axyridis, has a bad reputation. There is a common myth online that this lady beetle (ladybug) is invasive and aggressive, which can sometimes lead to people killing these beetles.
While this species of lady beetle was introduced to California from Asia in the 1990s to control aphid pests, it is not considered invasive. For an organism to be considered invasive it must be nonnative and cause harm to the environment, economy, or human health. Fortunately, the multicolored Asian lady beetle does not cause harm. Like many native lady beetle species, it feeds on pest insects like psyllids, scales, and especially aphids.
In the fall, multicolored...
June 15-21 is National Pollinator Week, a time to highlight the crucial role that pollinators play in producing food for our nation. Something you may not know about pollinators is that many of them, including beetles, flies, and wasps, are also beneficial natural enemies of many garden and landscape pests!
A good example of a pollinator that is also a natural enemy is the syrphid fly, also known as the flower or hover fly. Syrphid fly larvae prey on aphids and other soft-bodied insects, potentially consuming hundreds of these pests in one month! As adults, syrphid flies move from flower to flower feeding on pollen and nectar, assisting the process of...
