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overwintered vegetables, the grassy /weed patches are mowed. Wild mustard grows freely behind my large kitchen garden, offering cabbage moths an option for laving their eggs other than my broccoli and kale plants.
A bit later, chamomile, sweet alyssum, chervil, dill,feverfew, calendula and cilantro flowers feed the parasitic tachnid flies, braconid , chalchid and ichneumonid wasps. Even yellow jackets and paper wasps are (very respectfully!) left to set up home and they reward us by feeding caterpillars to their young. Warmer weather brings along the blooms of fennel, yarrow, cosmos, mints, monarda, tansy and Queen Anne's Lace to attract the trichogramma wasps.
Even aphids are not such a cause for fuss. They are necessary’ to attract ladybugs and will only cause serious damage to already weak plants which have soil nutrient or moisture imbalances.
Without aphids to feed ladybug larvae, this helpful insect will not choose to reside in your garden.
Other diligent insects at work are mantids and spiders, though they both eat beneficials as well as pests. Praying mantis are well-liked by most gardeners- it is the mascot which appears in this column’s graphic. Common lore is that only one mantis will live in a garden, yet I have seen as many as six adults in one day, in various spots. If there is enough food to go around a habitat can obviously support many of these fascinating creatures. Spirea and lemon balm are favorite plants of the mantis for egg laying, according to my observations.
Spiders, especially the orb, wolf and crab spiders need mulch and intensively, diversely planted gardens to dwell in. They lie in wait in large flower heads, like zinnias or weave webs between plant stems to catch their prey. I am very careful to leave their webs unharmed as I go about garden work. The largest orb spider, the black and yellow a^giope is an amazing sight, looking absolutely ferocious, but as all spiders are, very timid and shy of humans.
Soldier beetles need goldenrod, milkweed and hydrangea. Ground beetles which eat Colorado potato beetles, slugs and cutworms need clover and perennial flowers. The vegetables and flowers which gardeners prize and wish to protect also are need to attract the kinds of insects which beneficials eat.
Another practice of buying and releasing insects into a garden is not a good idea. Many of these insects are collected in the wild, disturbing the collection site habitats. Also, if an adequate number and type of plants are not blooming when the bought insects are released, they will die. Better to thoughtfully incorporate beneficial plantings into the garden environment and the insect pest control specialists will arrive.
The greatest bonus from planting insectary plants is that you will have a more beautiful, varied and abundant garden. As you become more familiar with how brilliantly nature does work to keep things in order, you can enjoy yourself more and even the insects, too!
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