Have you ever heard of a “Garden Mini Insectary?” It is a small garden placed near or in your regular garden that attracts and hosts beneficial insects. These insects prey upon the many bad insects that prey on your garden. A natural way to control pests, a Garden Mini Insectary assures that you won’t have to use insecticides or other dangerous customers to rid your garden of bad pests.
Anethum Graleolens
(Courtesy: Jaroslav Soukup at flickr.com)
Lacewing
(Courtesy: Ronald Beer at flickr.com)
You don’t need a large plot of ground to accommodate this type of garden. It just needs to be large enough to hold six or seven varieties of plants that attract the good insects.
Plants that would prove beneficial and the predator insects they attract include:
Mini Insectary Plants Beneficial Predators Attracted
Achillea fillipendulina Lacewigs, Aphidius, Ladybugs
Alyssum Hoverflies, Lacewings, Tachnid Flies
Amaranthus Ground beetles
Anethum Graveolens (Dill) Ichneumon wasps, ladybugs, Lacewings
Angelica gigas Lacewings
Convolvulius minor Ladybugs, Hoverflies
Coreopsis Hoverflies, Lacewings, Parasitic wasps
Cosmos bipinnatus Hoverflies, Parasitic wasps, Lacewings
Digitalis Dicyphus
Daucus Carota (Queen Ann’s Lace) Lacewings, Ladybugs, Hoverflies
Foeniculum Vulgare (Fennel) Damsel bugs, Lady bugs, Lacewings
Hellanthus annulus Pirate bugs, Beneficial mites
Iberis umbellata Hoverflies
Limonium latifollum (Statice) Hoverflies, Parasitic wasps
Lupin Aphidius, Aphidoletes, Hoverflies
Melissa officinalls (Lemon balm) Parasitic wasps, tachinid flies
Petroselinum Crispurn (Parsley) Parasitic wasps, hoverflies, tachinid flies
Scabiosa (Pincushion flowers) Hoverflies, Parasitic wasps
Shasta Daisy Pirate bugs, Beneficial mites
Sunflowers Pirate bugs, Aphidius, Parasitic wasps
Tanacetum Vulgare (Tansy) Ladybugs, Lacewings
Verbascum thaspus Dicyphus
Yarrow Hoverflies, Parasitic wasps, Ladybugs
Beneficial Predators Prey
Aphidius Aphids
Aphidoletes Aphids
Beneficial mites Thrips, spider mites, fungus gnats
Damsel Bugs (Nabidae) Eggs of many pest insects
Dicyphus Whiteflies, aphids, thrips, spider mites
Ground beetles Slugs, small caterpillars and grubs
Hoverflies Aphids, mealy bugs and others
Lacewings Scale, aphids, mites, soft-bodied insects
Ladybugs Aprids, mites
Pirate Bugs thrips, aphids, mites, scales, whiteflies
Tachnid flies Caterpillars, beetles and fly larvae
Parasitic Wasps Whiteflies, moths, beetles and fly larvae
Queen Ann’s Lace
(Courtesy: Glenn Anderson at flickr.com)
Hoverfly
(Courtesy: John Sargent at flickr.com)
Creating the ‘Mini’ Insectary Garden
Experts suggest:
· Interspersing the insectary annuals in rows or islands in vegetable beds.
· Include plants of different heights in your insectary.
· Tiny flowers in large quantity are more beneficial than single, large blooms.
· Combine flowers.
Source: Eartheasy.com
