Hungry insects in the garden aren't always a bad thing
By Kay Wilson Tribune-Herald staff writer
Bugs have long been considered as creepy-crawlies and bothersome at backyard barbecues. But don’t squish them until you have identified them.
Some of the worst enemies for Central Texas gardens are aphids, mites, snails and white flies. But other insects can help keep these pests under control.
Aphids, a soft-bodied insect, usually green, are one of the most prolific insect families with more than 4,400 species. They are the most destructive temperate-zone insect for gardeners and farmers.
Ladybugs are a gardener’s friend. They eat whiteflies, which feed on plants and can transmit diseases.
Duane A. Laverty/Waco Tribune-Herald, file
The aphid is a passive feeder. It punctures the phloem vessel on plants and the release of pressure pushes sap into the aphid.
The most common signs of aphids on plants are mottled leaves, yellowing or browning, stunted growth, curled leaves and low yields.
The most successful predators of aphids are green lacewing larvae, nicknamed the “aphid lion.” They also prey on thrips, mites and certain caterpillars.
Snails are mollusks, not insects. They wreak havoc on Central Texas gardens.
Snails eat at night and hide out during the day in dark places. While you can smash them, perhaps the faint-hearted would rather leave the battle to ground beetles, who feed on snails.
Ground beetles are large, shiny blue-black or brown beetles that, like snails, hide out during the day in many of the same places. Besides snails, they feed on cutworms and potato bugs. The adult ground beetle and larvae also feed on other insects.
Whiteflies are small insects with white wings that live on the underside of leaves, where they multiply rapidly.
Azeema Hamir, agronomist and garden writer for Organic Living Newsletter, said whiteflies feed on plant juices. If the numbers are large enough, the flies can consume a considerable amount of nutrients, which causes the plant to pale in color.
They excrete honeydew, which attracts a black, sooty mold fungus. Hamir said they have been shown to transmit viruses back to the host plant.
We all grew up loving ladybugs, which are actually beetles. One reason gardeners like them is because they feed on the whitefly, as well as mites, thrips, mealy bugs and other pests.
The larvae of the black ladybird beetle will eat up to 1,000 whitefly eggs in a lifetime.
There are ways to attract beneficial insects to your garden and places to buy insects in bulk. But beware: If you don’t have enough to feed them, they will find better hunting grounds elsewhere.
Planting flowers and vegetation that attract beneficial insects will help keep your garden looking its best and producing the most. Look before you squish because that creepy-crawly may be just what the gardener in your family ordered.
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