Insects
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Praying Mantid Beneficial Insect
Praying mantids (plural praying mantis) are mostly beneficial insects. Praying mantids eat aphids, asparagus beetles, caterpillars, Colorado potato beetles, earwigs, leafhoppers, Mexican bean beetles, and squash bugs. Praying mantids also eat beneficial insects, butterflies, and bees. The praying mantid is a beneficial insect sometimes known as the “destroyer of other insects.” Praying mantises eat an […] More
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Green Lacewing Beneficial Insect
Green lacewings are beneficial insects. Adult lacewings feed on nectar, pollen, and aphid honeydew. Young, larvae lacewings feed on the eggs and immature stages of many soft-bodied insect pests including aphids, asparagus beetle larvae, caterpillar eggs and young caterpillars, Colorado potato beetle larvae, spider mites, thrips, whiteflies, leafhoppers, and the eggs of pest moths and […] More
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Honey Bee Beneficial Insect
The honey bee is a beneficial insect and an important pollinator in the garden. Honey bees also produce honey and wax. About one-third of the human diet depends on honey bee pollination. Honey bees are important pollinators for more than 100 food crops. Honey bees collect water and gather pollen and nectar from flowers. As […] More
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Parasitic Wasps Beneficial Insects
Parasitic wasps are small, even minute, mini-wasps that control pests including many garden pests. Parasitic wasps kill their hosts by feeding on them. Pests controlled by parasitic wasps include aphids, beetles, caterpillars, flies, sawflies, and scale insects. Notable parasitic wasps are the Braconid wasp, the Chalcid wasp, the Ichneumon wasp, and the Trichogramma wasp. Parasitic […] More
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Harlequin Bug Organic Pest Control
Harlequin bugs are shield-shaped, have black-and-orange or black-and-red triangles on the back, and are about ¼-inch long. The harlequin bug is a type of stink bug; it releases a foul odor when disturbed. Harlequin bugs–also called shield bugs–suck plant sap from cabbage-family crops and other vegetables. Harlequin bugs overwinter in garden debris and weeds. The […] More
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Armyworms Organic Pest Control
Beet armyworm caterpillars are green with yellow undersides and dark green and yellow stripes. Fall armyworms are shiny brown with black heads and yellow stripes down their backs with a V-shaped white mark on the head. Armyworms are active at night and on overcast days. They get their name from their habit of marching in […] More
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Mealybugs Organic Pest Control
Mealybugs are very small soft, oval insects that are usually covered with white or gray waxy fluff. A mealybug is about 1/10 of an inch long. Mealybugs suck the juices from citrus, apples, pears, apricots, avocadoes, and grapes as well as ornamental and tropical plants. Honeydew excreted by mealybugs supports the growth of sooty mold […] More
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Spider Mite Organic Pest Control
Spider mites are nearly microscopic creatures about 1/50 inch long. They are reddish-brown or pale in color with eight legs, much like a spider. The spider mite is not an insect; it is an arachnid, the class of invertebrate animals that includes spiders. Good Products for Pest and Disease Control at Amazon: Mites are the […] More
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Garden Ants Organic Pest Control
Ants are an important component of the garden ecosystem. Ants are cleaners: they eat and help decompose organic matter in the soil, enriching the soil. Ants also eat pests insects such as fleas, fly larvae, and termites. Ants tunneling in the soil improve soil aeration which is helpful to plant roots. Ants become a garden […] More
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Leafminer Organic Pest Control
Adult leafminers are black-bristled gray or black flies usually with yellow stripes about 1/10-inch long. Larvae leafminers are stubby, green translucent maggots about 1/8- inch long. Leafminer maggots feed between the upper and lower surfaces of leaves creating tunnels or mines that appear irregular and white or brown on the surface. Good Products for Pest […] More
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Whitefly Organic Pest Control
Whiteflies look like very tiny white moths. Like their close relatives aphids, they suck juices from tender plant leaves. Whiteflies congregate in large numbers on the undersides of leaves and fly up in a cloud when disturbed. Whiteflies are found year-round in warm climates; in colder climates, they are seen in the summer. They thrive […] More
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Imported Cabbageworm Organic Pest Control
The adult imported cabbageworm is a white day-flying butterfly with one to four black spots on its wings and a wingspan of 1½ to 2 inches. The cabbageworm larvae are 1¼ inch velvety, light-green caterpillars with a fine yellow stripe down the back. Imported cabbageworm larvae chew ragged holes in the foliage of cabbage-family plants […] More
Stephen Albert
