Many of the beneficial insects performing the valuable service of keeping your pest insects in control will need nectar and pollen at various stages of their life. We are not suggesting you plant your garden to attract a single specific beneficial bug. We are suggesting that almost any of the plants listed in the chart below are going to help keep your beneficial population healthy.
Plants Attracting Beneficial Insects | ||
---|---|---|
Flowers vs. Bad Bugs | ||
These Flowers | Attracts These Bugs | Which Eat These Insect Pests |
Evening Primrose, thyme, rosemary, mint provide shelter | Ground Beetle | Cankerworms, snails, slugs, moths, maggots, houseflies, gnats, aphids, ants, termites. |
Wild Buckwheat, Golden marguerite, | Tachinid Fly | Caterpillars, adult beetles, gypsy moths, grasshoppers. |
Baby Blue Eyes, Candy Tuft | Syrphid Fly | Aphids, thrips, leafhoppers, mealy bugs. |
Bishops Flower, Black-Eyed Susan, Strawflowers, Nasturtiums, dill, coriander, angelica, wild carrot, fennel | Parasite Insects | Cutworms, mealy bugs, aphids, scale insets, beetle larva, gypsy moths, caterpillars. |
Angelica, Fern leaf yarrow, Coriander, Four-wing saltbush, Purple poppy mallow, Fennel, Dill, Golden marguerite | Green lace wings | Aphids, caterpillars eggs, mites, mealybugs, thrips, whiteflies. |
Yarrow, Basket-of-Gold, Golden marguerite, Carpet bugleweed, Rocky mountauin penstemon, Sulfur cinquefoil, Dill, Fennel, Four-wing saltbush, Spike speedwell, Coriander, Fern-leaf yarrow | Ladybugs | Aphids, mealybugs, cinch bugs, spider mites, thrips, whiteflies. |
Baby blue eyes, Candytuft, Morning glory, Oleander, Basket-of Gold, Wood betony, Golden marguerite, Carpet bugleweed, Rocky Mountain penstemon, Alpine cinquefoil, Sweet alyssum, Dwart alpine aster, Wild bergamot, Sulfur cinquefoil, Dill, Wnglish lavender, Fennel, Edging lobelia, Masterwort, Purple poppy mallow, Four-wing saltbush, Spike speedwell, Orange stonecrop, Stonecrops, Crimson thyme, Sutter and Eggs, Feverfew, Common yarrow, Coriander, Statice, Fern-leaf yarrow, Goldenrod, daisies, mints, catnip | Hover Fly, larvae are the predators | Aphids, leafhoppers, thrips |