In the News - May 2008
Beneficial bugs are garden superheroes
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 www.uaex.edu. The Cooperative
Extension Service is part of the U of A Division of Agriculture.
May 2, 2008
By Kelli Reep
For the Cooperative Extension Service
Media Contact: Lamar James
Extension Communications Specialist
U of A Division of Agriculture
Cooperative Extension Service
(501) 671-2187 or (501) 753-0207
ljames@uaex.edu
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