LITTLE ROCK - Those of us who grew up with the Justice League understood that there is good and bad in everything - people, places, beings with superhuman abilities. As we grew older, bought our own homes and decided to plant our own little squares of heaven, we found this childhood cartoon lesson carried over to even the tiniest of beings: insects. Their powers can wreak havoc or maintain harmony just as much as any superhero.

Take for example the ladybug (or lady beetle). Most likely where the expression “cute as a bug” derived from, the ladybug is not only a sweet decoration for little girl clothes, jewelry and kitchen towels, but it is also a great aphid hunter. Aphids attack the foliage of a wide variety of plants and some even transmit viruses to affected plants. Ladybugs feed on the aphids and can help hold an aphid infestation in check.

“If you want to use lady beetles as a natural control measure against aphids, you can purchase them commercially,” said Dr. John Hopkins, extension urban entomologist with the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture. “Keep in mind, though, that if you don’t have aphids, the ladybugs won’t stick around. They will move on until they can find another source of food.”

There are many other beneficial predatory insects that provide natural pest control around the garden. Lacewing and syrphid fly larvae feed on aphids just like lady beetles. Praying mantids, damsel bugs, big-eyed bugs, assassin bugs, ambush bugs and ground beetles are the tigers of the garden and prey on just about any insect they can catch. Dragonflies and robber flies are not usually thought of as predators of plant pests, but do prey on other insects and can even catch their prey in flight. Mosquitoes, a significant pest of the gardener, are on the dragonfly’s menu.

Also present in the garden are many species of parasitic insects such as ichneumonid wasps, braconid wasps and tachinid flies. These species also provide natural control of garden insect pests.

Parasitic insects use many garden pests as hosts for their developing young. These developing young parasites feed within and ultimately kill the host pest insect, said Hopkins.

Probably the most beneficial insect encountered in the garden is the honey bee. While it is neither a predator nor parasite of other insects, it performs another vital function - pollination. It’s estimated that about one-third of the human diet is derived from insect-pollinated plants and that the honey bee is responsible for 80 percent of this pollination.

“We all get a little nervous when we see bugs because we just don’t know what they are capable of doing - biting, stinging or just making our skin crawl,” Hopkins said. “But, many of them are great friends to humans and the plants we grow. A little understanding will go a long way in keeping us on the good side of these bugs.”

For more information about insects or gardening, contact your county extension agent or visit http://www.uaex.edu. The Cooperative Extension Service is part of the U of A Division of Agriculture.

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