Download Fiann`s quick guide to Beneficial insects and other potential

Fiann’s quick guide to Beneficial insects and other potential friends.
All pests have natural enemies and the oldest trick is to use the enemy of your enemy.. but there is more to beneficial
insects than just predation, there is also pollination, soil conditioning and a garden hygiene. So many benefits. So let’s look
first at the top five must haves and five other potentials before addressing how to make the garden a haven for the good
guys and a hell for the bad ones.
Bees: We all know that without bees, we are in trouble. Bees provide pollination services for the production of more than
three-quarters of world crops, everything from apples to coffee has a bee involved with its existence. According to the
Department of the Environment, bees are worth an estimated €85 million per annum to the Irish economy. And that not
counting the honey. Apart from the honeybee which beekeepers will not allow go extinct, Ireland has 20 species of
bumblebee and 80 species solitary bee. Some under severe treat of extibction, some are relatively recent arrivals to
Ireland, for example the early nesting bumblebee (Bombus pratorum) was first recorded as resident here in 1947 while
other form part of our ancient heritage of fauna even having a place in the foundation laws of early ireland with the law of
the beekeeper. Ireland also has its very own distinct bumblebee subspecies Bombus muscorum var. allenellus, found only
on the Aran Islands. The bees are in decline through loss of habitat, monoculture farming, pesticide usage and decreased
immune systems with increased mite susceptibility. Your garden with its diversity of food sources, low or now pesticide
usage and welcome environment will keep the bees going. In return they will pollinate your garden and keep it healthy and
productive. A hive is good for honey bees but nest boxes are best for the other 100 species. If your garden is good for bees
it is good for all the other good guys too. Bees are the barometer of the health of the planet and the heath of your garden
as micro environment.
Ladybirds: the easiest to recognise of all the beneficial insects with its red and black polka dot shell. Ladybirds have
voracious appetites and the good news is that their preferred delectations are aphids those plant disfiguring greenfly and
their relatives. A single ladybird will casually snack away on 50 or so greenfly a day. Direct them to the blackfly on your rose
or the white fly on your lupin and they will soon devour the problem away. So lady like? That name in fact comes from a
time when Christianity was rebranding the known world and referencing early iconography of the Virgin Mary depicted in
red cloaks it lent itself to this little beetle whom dotted with seven spots like the seven sorrows of Mary. In fact not all
ladybirds have seven spots there are several kinds including a two spotted one and a striped one. There are 18 varieties of
ladybird native to Ireland with three endangered. The religious or god bestowed virtues of this coccinellid transcends faiths
and cultures with most vernacular names linking it to a deity or divine purpose. In Ireland alone there are seven ways of
giving identification to a ladybird: bó shamhraidh and bóín shamhraidh – cow of summer and little cow of summer (it
grazes all day), bóín Mhac Dé – little cow of gods son, bó and bóín Dé – cow and little cow of god, cearc Mhuire – Mary’s
hen and the one I like most ciaróg na mbeannacht – beetle of the blessing; because from a gardeners view point if you have
them you are blessed.
Lacewings: a beautiful insect, mantis like with golden iridescent eyes and stunning large wings veined with intricate
finesse. You would want it almost just to look at but as a destroyer of green white and black- fly you would almost worship
it. Both the larvae and adults will consume every aphid in their path. This is a serious predator. Here is the gruesome bit
they actually clamp their mandibles around the aphid and suck their victims dry and some even attach the remains of their
victims to themselves like trophies.. But really as a camouflage to get in close and get more kill. They lay Individual white
eggs on the ends of inch-long stiff threads, you won’t mistake them for cabbage butterfly eggs.
Hoverflies: sometimes it all is in the name, and the way to distinguish a hoverfly from a type of bee or wasp is in the nature
of its flight, almost dragonflyesque, it flits. Hoverflies in maturity feed off nectar but their young have an appetite for aphids
and other sap sucking pests so they actively seek out plants invested with aphids and lay their eggs upon them, those
hatching eggs will devour the pest colony in a matter of days, but it seems hoverflies as pollinators may be a candidate to
fill the breech in regions where bees are declining. hoverflies lay white, oval eggs (sometimes singly but also in groups on
foliage). These eggs hatch into green, yellow, orange, brown, or white maggots approx. Half-inch long. They look like bad
guys but aren’t.
Brown centipedes: ‘here comes the hotstepper, turn around!’ As the song goes, so too the prey in the path of the
centipede, turn and head for the hills. All those legs give it speed but it is the strong fangs and the venom that paralyses its
victims before it eats them alive is where the treat is. Sounds nasty buts it one to have on your side; Its victims include the
two worst culprits to have infest your garden; slugs and vine weevils.
Other friends including some perhaps surprizing ones
Beetles - Thousands of species of beetle are found in Ireland, generally identified by six legs and a rounded often shiny
body and hard wing cases. Some beetles are pests of crops and garden plants but others such as the rove or ground
beetles feed on caterpillars, grubs, leatherjackets and aphids, the larger ones are even known to hunt down the odd slug or
10. Ground beetles hunt at night and boy are they prolific in their kill count. All you need is a damp log in a shady corner
and beetles will come make a home. Beetles tidy the garden as they go, they are part of the cycling of nutrients from
decaying matter back into the soil, on that score alone a welcome friend.
Parasite Wasps: considered more for the hothouse grower I admit but worth a look for the sheer value they bring to the
professional trade. On a commercial scale and in some niche nurseries, the family of Chalcid wasps are imported and set
free inside the polytunnels and glasshouses. The aim to be a natural biological control. They also work in some protected
crop or covered crop scenarios. One group known as the Trichogramma will lay their eggs into the eggs of the moth species
notably the codling moth (better known as the worm that burrows through apples) while Ichneumon and Braconid wasps
eradicate tomato hornworm, cabbage worm, aphids, leaf rollers and a variety of pest grubs.
Spiders; squeamish or not, spiders trap a staggering amount of insects in their lifetime. Just as parsite wasps are used to
diminish the codling moth populations in commercial set ups, having spiders in your apple tree will yield less wormy apples
if you get an infestation of the moth; spiders will eat both moth eggs and young larvae before they get the chance to enter
the fruit.
Woodlice: perhaps because they scatter when you turn a rock or are founding in decaying vegetation, woodlice tend to
make some people squeamish. I find them fascinating. They are part of the process of recycling nutrients back into the soil,
they speed up the decomposition of decaying matter and are truly good guys in the garden, and even though in the
business of waste management they do not spread disease or constitute any risk to health, in fact they are considered
edible by many foragers and a must for survivalists. The thing that fascinates me the most is that they are not an insect;
they are crustaceans, like tiny land crabs. Does that make you rethink their edibility now? There are around 3,500 species
of woodlice globally. Ireland has 32 recorded native species. The more common varieties here are the common rough
woodlouse (Porcellio scaber) the shiny woodlouse (Oniscus asellus) and the pill bug (Armadillidium vulgare). They can
become a house pest and if populations explode they may venture to eating garden vegetation and young shoots but in
generally they prefer the damp dark corners of your garden. Any stragglers that I find in my garden I usually drop them into
my compost heap where they will find a banquet and I will find a better heap when I come to turn it or use it.
Slugs- ok worst until last, slugs are a pest, a major pest but in the right place, namely your covered compost heap or leaf
mould bin they are glorious machines. Rather than having them riddle your garden foliage they can be dropped into a heap
to become a benefit. They will turn that waste in to good soil food in now time. That’s the theory. In practice I tried it one
year and the problem I found was a nagging doubt of how you use the compost without reintroducing the slugs back into
your garden. Boiling water is an option, sieving out is an option, adopting a hedgehog or chicken is another, the truth is that
when it comes to slug eggs they are often predated on with in the compost heap or are destroyed by compression or heat
within the heap, so it’s only the adults then, if you fill a barrow with some compost from the heap, the adults can be picked
out or picked off two by two with some beer traps sunken into the barrow full of compost.
Ok Slugs might be pushing it a bit for most, but in terms of the other good guys how can you best attract them and more
how can you encourage them to not just visit but to set up home in your garden. It really is not that difficult, in fact there
are three simple steps.
Step one - Make a home/ Provide shelter: for the most part beneficial Insects and garden friends like dark, damp places.
They can hide away from the drying sun during the summer days and make it a secure shelter to overwinter during the
wintertime months. A stack of bricks or slates or a pile of logs will make the perfect insect hotel, you could put the load in a
gabion and green roof it or you could simply plant some grasses and tallish wildflowers on front of the stack to give it a
clear habitat demarcation and not a neglected corner feel. There are insect hotels on the market, tailored to beneficial
predators or specific pollinators so the options are endless. From my experience the really good guys like the lacewings and
the ladybirds do not like to be disturbed so avoid making that gabion into a seat or placing a hotel where there is lots of
activity. They will venture out to feed; you don’t have to have a nest box in the middle of your raised veg bed.
Step two - Provide food and water: for the majority of good predators, it is the young or larvae that do most of the
damage to garden pests and so you don’t have to plant larval food plants to attract them as you would with butterflies. The
adult will lay where ever the pest food source is. Some as adults continue to feed on the pests but others become feeders
of nectar and pollen just as bees feed. Feeding the adults will guarantee a new brood, it keeps them in the garden long
enough to mate and lay. I will look a little closer a little later on at plant selection for encouraging garden friends but for
now think in terms of daisy family (achillea; echinacea, rudbeckia, coreopsis) as a good start to plentiful nectar and pollen.
Water is key to all living things and Insects are no exception. I use ceramic dishes that are designed to keep the water from
watered houseplants ruining the house, I just make a simple modification I add some various sized pebbles to give a foot
hold to the insects, a bowl of water will just result in drowned insects. A bird bath can be adapted or other devices
manufactured. At a school project I worked on recently we up-cycled ladles from the kitchen to make both bird feeders and
watering holes. Insects will sup from rain droplets on plants too, and from any moisture left on plant foliage or soil after
you have watered, it is nice however to create a watering device as in times of rainless days or hot heavy days you can top
it up and make life easier for them.
Step three - one war at a time /Stop spraying: if you are napalming the hell out of pests then you are napalming the good
guys too. As good as all pesticides are indiscriminate in their toxic delivery. You have to let a balance happen in the garden
for natural predation to work at its best. Not forgetting that pesticides have knock on effects with soil microorganisms and
human health too. Soapy water works brilliant on aphids, the crush of a thumb also. You can still play your part in the war
just not with friendly fire.
So to look a litter closer at planting to attract friends and influence predation –
To attract bees plant any nectar rich plants, which means any flowering plant that is not a double or sterile form. To attract
ladybirds keep a bucket of nettles on the go or plant Alyssum, Ajuga, Achillea, Anthemis, Helianthus or Tagetes. Lacewings
particularly like Achillea , fennel (Foeniculum vulgare), angelica (Angelica gigas) and Cosmos bipinnatus . Hoverflies like all
lacewings like but also favour asters, astrantia, monarda, sedum and thyme as adults for their nectar supply. Parasitic
wasps are drawn to Sweet alyssum (lobularia maritime), Melissa officinalis, Pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium) and Parsley
(Petroselinum crispum). Centipedies and beetles like some leaf mould or decaying matter rather than any particular plant.
As with spiders and woodlice it is more about places to inhabit than food plants.
Once in these friends will get you garden in harmony. And that will get you in harmony. There is something sweet about
feeling that you are in a living environment, natural and active, that you cannot get from the dull, chemical heavy, manmade and many man hour maintained manufactured set up. It is all about the right environment. I hope now with these
tips you can improve and enjoy yours.