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Beneficial Bees & Bugs
by Ann Lovejoy

Newer gardeners can understandably be confused about the role of beneficial bugs in the garden. Scary advertising campaigns suggest that the only good bug is a dead bug. In truth, over 95 percent of all insects are benign or actively helpful.

The best of the helpful bugs can be bought from nurseries, where they are known as beneficials. Some, like ladybugs, are cute looking. They are also formidable aphid eaters, but unless you know what they need, releasing ladybugs is likely to be more frustrating than functional.

Adult ladybugs are harvested while hibernating. When they wake up in your garden, the first thing they want is water and the second thing is sex. To keep them in place, lightly mist the foliage of the plants surrounding their release place.

Mating adults soon produce larvae that look like tiny alligators. These little black wigglers eat many times their weight in aphids each day before turning into the familiar spotted adult form.

Tiny parasitic wasps almost too small to be seen are used to control the destructive, nonnative tent caterpillars that periodically ravage our gardens and woodlands. These little wasps also appreciate damp foliage and should be released on a warm, windless day.

We hear a lot about honeybees in trouble these days, and many gardeners want to know how to help. Honeybees are not native to the Northwest, though we do have about a thousand different native species of bees. One spring, my kids identified over 30 kinds on a single pear tree in full bloom. Like the honeybees, our native bees are harmed by pesticides and herbicides and their numbers are falling rapidly.

We need bees to pollinate many of the foods we eat, as well a countless flowers, trees and shrubs. To attract bees to your garden, plant a wide variety of flowers, giving preference to single rather than double forms. Some bees have a hard time wriggling into complex double flowers, but simple annuals like sweet alyssum are appreciated by all kinds of pollinators.

Bees are far from the only pollinator for Northwestern plants. Wasps, ants, moths, birds, bats and butterflies also do their share, and even the lowly mosquito pollinates certain bog orchids.

Native bees naturally prefer native plants but also visit their exotic cousins, from asters to yarrow and rhododendrons to roses. Native favorites include flowering currant, willow herb, lupines, Oregon grape, penstemons, goldenrods and geraniums. Rosemary, lavender, mints and most other herbs are also popular with many pollinators.

Whether you want to encourage birds, bees or butterflies to visit your garden, the goals are the same. First, bring in a good range of flower forms and colors. Next, sequence them to create the longest possible blooming period. Big clumps of the same kind of plant are more attractive to pollinators than scattered singletons (and look better to humans as well).

Once you bring in these native creatures, you’ll want to provide food, water, shelter and a safe environment. While hummingbirds, bees and butterflies all like flower nectar, butterfly larvae (and some bees) need fodder plants as well. This means allowing baby caterpillars to eat some leaves and letting leaf-cutter bees slice a few circles from leathery foliage like rose leaves. Some caterpillars also wrap themselves in leaves as they pupate, so it’s important to leave these bundled leaves alone.

A birdbath will serve many pollinators, though some bees and butterflies drink best from damp soil. Lastly, never spray anything but water when bees or other beneficials are present (usually during full daylight hours). Even the safe and generally nontoxic pesticides included in natural care programs (like neem oil and insecticidal soaps) can harm or kill bees and other non-target creatures.

Ann Lovejoy is the author of many books, including The Handbook of Northwest Gardening, Natural; Sustainable; Organic.

©2007 Caliope Publishing Company