Friendly Insects, Deadly to Pests - Lacewings

green lacewing

Since I am campaigning for organic gardening, I also include in my blog articles, topics that relate to organic or natural ways of taking care of plants. In this article, I will discuss to you about the benefits of taking care of predatory insects- these are small insects that are harmless to humans yet fatal to pesky garden pests.

One insect that proves to have a voracious appetite for almost all of the nasty suckers in the garden are the lacewings.The lacewings- particularly the green lacewings- it feast on aphids, spider mites which usually invades cyclamens; thrips, mealybugs, white flies present in the undersides of tomato leaves and squash leaves; immature scales and many other pests.

The scientific name of the green lacewing is Chrysoperla rufilabris. There are several garden stores that sell biological pest controls such as lacewings. If you put at least ten eggs of this insect on each plant, or apply about one thousand eggs per 200 square foot, the green lacewings will reduce the aphid population to a significant level. Do this three times and the aphid population will be culled.

Lacewings like to munch on aphids. The insects are particularly handy when you have a rose garden for roses are highly susceptible to aphid infestation. Ants harbor aphids and they have a mutual relationship in which the ants suck honeydew from the aphid's body. In turn, the aphids are being provided with a free transport to the juicy parts of the plants where they suck the plant's sap.

No matter what season it is during the year, a pest-infested garden will not look pleasant to your eyes and beneficial insects are needed to feed on these menacing pests and eradicate them.