We tend to be a little freaked out by bugs. However, there are many insects that are very helpful in the garden. By eating other insects, they help us maintain a balance of predators to prey in the garden and lessen damage to our precious plants. The Aggie Horticulture website provides a great list of beneficial insects. The following are a few:mmm• Lightening bug larvae prey on snails, slugs, and other insect larvae.• Horned assassin bugs eat beetles, spiders, caterpillars, and snails by using their long proboscis to pierce the prey's body and suck out the soft insides.These are pretty scary-looking guys, but they do a great job on flies and such.• Stink bugs eat caterpillars, beetle larvae, and other soft bodied insects.• Damselflies and dragonflies are beneficial as both larvae and adults. They can live in the larval stage from two months up to three years. Nymphs live in water and prey on mosquito larvae, other aquatic insects, and animals. Some adult damselflies and dragonflies feed on mosquitoes, flies, and moths.• Green lacewings dine on aphids, insect eggs, thrips, mealy bugs, immature white flies, and small caterpillars. Green lacewing eggs are very interesting and fun to find. They are often laid in a pretty spiral. They are white in appearance and each is perched on its own quarter-inch stalk, possibly to protect it from other lacewing larvae and ants. Lace- wing larvae are cannibalistic.• The mealy bug destroyer is related to lady beetles and eats mealy bugs during all stages of its life. The larvae are wooly in appearance and resemble their prey. You can identify the mealy bug destroyer by its size. It is about twice as big as its prey. Mealy bug destroyer eggs are laid in the egg sacks of mealy bugs. They begin to eat mealy bugs as soon as they hatch.• Lady beetles eat aphids, mealy bugs, and other soft bodied insects. Lady beetle larvae look like little alligators and have a huge appetite for aphids. Not all lady beetles are red with spots.• A praying mantis will eat a wide range of prey including flies, crickets, beetles, and moths. Pretty much anything they can catch is food. These critters are also cannibals, and the babies will eat each other. You don't want to know what can happen to the daddies. (Okay, maybe we should be a little freaked out.)mmm

Along with bees to pollinate our plants and worms to build our soil, predatory insects can help usin the garden. Remember that pesticides can harm beneficial insects just like they will harm the bad guys. Practice IPM to lessen our dependence on pesticides.mmm

For more information, see "Benficials in the Garden" Galveston County Master Gardeners : http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.eduigalveston/beneficials_inthe_garden.htm, "Beneficial Insects 101" Planet Natural Research Center: https://www.planetnatural.com/beneficial-insects-101/ and "Beneficial Insects" Missouri "Botanical Garden: http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens-gardening/your-garden/help-for-the-home-gardener/advice-tips-resources/pests-and-problems/other/beneficial-insects.aspx,

BENEFICIAL INSECTS: GOOD GUYS IN THE GARDEN

Lightening bug larva (left) and adult (right).

Assassin bug Stink bug Damsel flies

Dragon fly Green lacewing Green lacewing eggs

Mealy bug destroyer Lady beetles Praying mantis

Lady beetle larva