Plants To Attract Beneficial Insects, Pt. 1
And, the life stages of lacewings, ladybugs and hoverflies (so you don't accidentally squish a good guy!)
Nature wants to make your job as a gardener as easy as possible; but you have to help. We've talked about putting in plants that attract insects whose primary job is to pollinate your garden, helping to insure a bountiful harvest of food and flowers.
But what about attracting those other "good bugs", the crawling and flying creatures whose diet includes pests that are ravaging your garden plants? These beneficial predatory insects do not live on aphid steaks alone. They need other natural sources of food and shelter for their entire life cycle before they call your backyard a permanent home.
What are these "Welcome Mat" plants and the beneficial insects they attract? Here is a list of three of those good bugs and the plants that they like to visit for shelter and as another source of food for their diet and their children. Next week, we’ll have even more beneficials and plants. For best results, group these plants nearby or along the garden border to attract the garden good guys.
LACEWINGS
Beautiful, little (3/4”) green or brown insects with large lacy wings.
Individual white eggs of lacewings are found laid on the ends of inch-long, stiff threads, usually along the undersides of leaves.
It is the larvae (which look like little alligators) that destroy most of the pests. They are sometimes called “aphid lions” for their habit of dining on aphids. They also feed on mites, other small insects and insect eggs. On spring and summer evenings, lacewings can sometimes be seen clinging to porch lights, screens or windows.
Plants that attract lacewings:
•Achillea filipendulina Fern-leaf yarrow
•Anethum graveolens Dill
•Angelica gigas Angelica
•Anthemis tinctoria Golden marguerite
•Atriplex canescens Four-wing saltbush
•Callirhoe involucrata Purple poppy mallow
•Carum carvi Caraway
•Coriandrum sativum Coriander
•Cosmos bipinnatus Cosmos white sensation
•Daucus carota Queen Anne’s lace
•Foeniculum vulgare Fennel
•Helianthus maximilianii Prairie sunflower
•Tanacetum vulgare Tansy
•Taraxacum officinale Dandelion
LADYBUGS (Ladybeetles)
Easily recognized when they are adults by most gardeners. However, the young larvae, black with orange markings, eat more pests than the adults, and they can’t fly. Yellowish eggs are laid in clusters usually on the undersides of leaves.
Plants that attract ladybugs:
•Achillea filipendulina Fern-leaf yarrow
•Achillea millefolium Common yarrow
•Ajuga reptans Carpet bugleweed
•Alyssum saxatilis Basket of Gold
•Anethum graveolens Dill
•Anthemis tinctoria Golden marguerite
•Asclepias tuberosa Butterfly weed
•Atriplex canescens Four-wing saltbush
•Coriandrum sativum Coriander
•Daucus carota Queen Anne’s lace
•Eriogonum fasciculatum CA Buckwheat
•Foeniculum vulgare Fennel
•Helianthus maximilianii Prairie sunflower
•Penstemon strictus Rocky Mt. penstemon
•Potentilla recta ‘warrenii’ Sulfur cinquefoil
•Potentilla villosa Alpine cinquefoil
•Tagetes tenuifolia Marigold “lemon gem”
•Tanacetum vulgare Tansy
•Taraxacum officinale Dandelion
•Veronica spicata Spike speedwell
•Vicia villosa Hairy vetch
Another planting tip to keep ladybugs around throughout the year in mild climates: put in ornamental grasses, especially deer grass (Muhlenbergia). Don’t prune it back until spring. You just might witness the newest crop of ladybugs emerging from this winter hideaway on a warm, sunny day!
HOVERFLIES (incl. syrphid flies, predatory aphid flies, flower flies)
Also known as syrphid fly, predatory aphid fly or flower fly. Adults look like little bees that hover over and dart quickly away. They don’t sting! They lay eggs (white, oval, laid singly or in groups on leaves) which hatch into green, yellow, brown, orange, or white half-inch maggots that look like caterpillars. They raise up on their hind legs to catch and feed on aphids, mealybugs and others.
Plants that attract hoverflies:
•Achillea filipendulina Fern-leaf yarrow
•Achillea millefolium Common yarrow
•Ajuga reptans Carpet bugleweed
•Allium tanguticum Lavender globe lily
•Alyssum saxatilis Basket of Gold
•Anethum graveolens Dill
•Anthemis tinctoria Golden marguerite
•Aster alpinus Dwarf alpine aster
•Astrantia major Masterwort
•Atriplex canescens Four-wing saltbush
•Callirhoe involucrata Purple poppy mallow
•Carum carvi Caraway
•Chrysanthemum parthenium Feverfew
•Coriandrum sativum Coriander
•Cosmos bipinnatus Cosmos white sensation
•Daucus carota Queen Anne’s lace
•Eriogonum fasciculatum CA Buckwheat
•Foeniculum vulgare Fennel
•Lavandula angustifolia English lavender
•Limnanthes douglasii Poached egg plant
•Limonium latifolium Statice
•Linaria vulgaris Butter and eggs
•Lobelia erinus Edging lobelia
•Lobularia maritima Sweet alyssum white
•Melissa officinalis Lemon balm
•Mentha pulegium Pennyroyal
•Mentha spicata Spearmint
•Monarda fistulosa Wild bergamot
•Penstemon strictus Rocky Mt. penstemon
•Petroselinum crispum Parsley
•Potentilla recta ‘warrenii’ Sulfur cinquefoil
•Potentilla villosa Alpine cinquefoil
•Rudbeckia•Rudbeckia fulgida Gloriosa daisy
•Sedum kamtschaticum Orange stonecrop
•Sedum spurium Stonecrops
•Solidago virgaurea Peter Pan goldenrod
•Stachys officinalis Wood betony
•Tagetes tenuifolia Marigold “lemon gem”
•Thymus serpylum coccineus Crimson thyme
•Veronica spicata Spike speedwell
•Zinnia elegans Zinnia "liliput"
In the Next Newsletter: More Beneficial Insects
Including parasitic mini wasps, tachinid flies, minute pirate bugs, damsel bugs, big-eyed bugs - and the plants they need to build a home and raise a family.
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Fred Hoffman is also a University of California Cooperative Extension Master Gardener in Sacramento County.
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