Garden Magic Company Articles
Beneficial Insects and their Prey
by Ann Barklow
| Beneficial/Predator Insect | Their Main Prey | |
| Syrphid fly or Hover fly | Aphids, leafhoppers, mealybugs. | |
| Lacewing larvae | Aphids, mealybugs, scale, whiteflies, mites, eggs of mites, thrips and other insects. | |
| Tachinid flies | Grasshoppers, beetles, sawflies, stink bugs and caterpillars, incl. cutworms. | |
| Damsel bugs | Aphids, thrips, leafhopper and small caterpillars. | |
| Braconid wasps | Depending on species, parasitizes caterpillars or aphids. | |
| Chalcid wasps, including Trichogramma |
Parasitizes red scale, mealbugs, or aphids depending on species. Trichogramma preys on over 200 species of caterpillars. | |
| Six-spotted thrips | spider mites | |
| Minute pirate bug | Thrips, aphids, spider mites, small caterpillars, leaf hopper nymphs, whiteflies, and various eggs of insects. | |
| Dragonflies | Small flying insects such as mosquitoes. | |
| Soldier beetles | Cutworms, snails and slugs. | |
| Assassin bugs | Flies, bees, leafhoppers, aphids, tomato hornworm and other large caterpillars. | |
| Spiders | Many insects, even beneficials. | |
| Ladybird beetles and larvae (Ladybugs) | Aphids, scale, thrips, mealybugs, mites, whitefly and some other insects depending on species. | |
| Nematodes | Borers, root weevils, cutworms, beetle larvae, cabbage roots maggots, wireworms. | |
| Ground beetles | Slugs, snails, and other insect larvae. They hunt mainly at night. | |
| Sand Wasps | Flys and gnats, incl. houseflys and horseflys. | |
| Ichneumon Wasps | Caterpillars. | |
| Encyrtid Wasps, including Encarsia formosa |
Caterpillars, beetle larvae and scale insects. Encarsia formosa preys on whitefly. | |
| * Invasive in garden. Do not plant tree of heaven or fennel near wild areas. |
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| Text & Images Copyright © 2005 by Ann Barklow | ||