It’s not just your flowers that look amazing, but also many of the small creatures in your garden. Many of these achieve an extremely useful purpose, causing your plants to grow better. Let’s learn more about these beautiful and helpful insects.

Stunning Bees

Bees are extremely elegant and whimsical creatures found throughout many gardens. They are easy to spot with their vibrant yellows, combined with sharp blacks. Beautiful fur also coats their bodies, which many people don’t realize without a close up look.

Now, many people see bees as an annoyance or even a threat, however, they are very helpful to your garden. These insects pollinate flowers and plants through your garden, helping it grow effectively. As far as their sting is concerned, they are extremely unlikely to unleash it on you without provocation.

Formidable Praying Mantises

Some may consider this insect beautiful, while others terrifying, however, what everyone should understand, is that it is incredibly effective at killing other insects. Think of it as your gardens enforcer, dealing justice to any insects that may inhabit your plants.

The reason for the praying mantises name is that presents its front legs folded forward, as if in prayer. They are then used to rapidly seize its victims, impaling them on sharp spikes. A further unique feature these insects possess is that they can rotate their heads 180 degrees, making them difficult to sneak up on. This makes them even more versatile predators.

Why the praying mantis is generally beneficial to the garden, remember, it doesn’t discriminate between good and bad bugs, simply hunting everything. This means it can sometimes kill creatures that may have been more useful alive than dead, however, this is usually a small price to pay for its overall effectiveness.

Determined Soldier Beetles

These are, as their name suggests, soldiers in your garden. Predatory insects such as caterpillars and grasshoppers, are part of the soldier beetle’s diet. This makes them extremely useful in keeping your garden free of pests. Soldier beetles also have another benefit. Just like bees, they diligently pollinate plants and flowers.

It can be difficult to distinguish them from other beetles. Look for a tan or yellow colored body, with large black spots on their wings. You will find that they look very similar to fireflies, but without the ability to light up.

Stealthy Assassin Bugs

Assassin bugs come in a variety of different species. Many look elegant in strong black and gray color schemes, while others display a vibrant range of bright colors. If insects are of interest to you then you are likely to be very impressed by their appearance.

Just like a praying mantis or soldier bug, these insects are useful in reducing levels of more harmful creatures, helping your garden grow better overall. They acquire their prey by piercing it with a quick stab of its mouthparts. A toxin is then released, making the victim helpless, before the assassin bug sucks out its body fluids. Some species display color schemes that allow them to blend in with flowers. They then lay in wait, ambushing victims at the last second.

Helpful Syrphid Flies

These beautiful insects can sometimes be mistaken for bees, due to their yellow, orange, and black color schemes. The adults also pollinate flowers, just like bees. However, there is an easy way to tell them apart as Syrphid Flies only have two wings.

These flies produce maggots that may look horrible, but are also very useful. They crawl over garden foliage, searching for aphids to eat. These aphids are a gardener’s worst nightmare. The extremely small pear-shaped creatures can infest plants, draining their sap, and spreading viruses. Syrphid maggots are extremely useful in preventing and eliminating them.

Keep Your Eyes Peeled

If you have discovered a new creature in your garden think carefully if it is beneficial or just a pest, as the difference can be very hard to spot. We have touched on a few of the more common variants, which hopefully has made you a lot better informed. However, with such a broad range of insect life in every garden you never know what will turn up next, so always do your research to determine if it is more than just a beautiful pest.

Author Bio
Lynton specialises in pest control and bought into the Jim’s Pest Control franchise. He works on providing premium pest control services for clients and is a well trusted member of the community. Outside of work he walks the family dogs, goes for bike rides with the family, and enjoys life.

Look deep into Nature, you’ll understand Everything!

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