Surf Wiki
Save to docs
general/insects-in-culture

From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

Beneficial insect

Beneficial insects (sometimes called beneficial bugs) are any of a number of species of insects that perform valued services like pollination and pest control. The concept of beneficial is subjective and only arises in light of desired outcomes from a human perspective. In agriculture, where the goal is to raise selected crops, insects that hinder the production process are classified as pests, while insects that assist production are considered beneficial. In horticulture and gardening, beneficial insects are often considered those that contribute to pest control and native habitat integration.

Encouraging beneficial insects, by providing suitable living conditions, is a pest control strategy, often used in organic farming, organic gardening or integrated pest management. Companies specializing in biological pest control sell many types of beneficial insects, particularly for use in enclosed areas, like greenhouses.

Types

Bee boxes at an organic farm

Some species of bee are beneficial as pollinators, although generally only efficient at pollinating plants from the same area of origin, facilitating propagation and fruit production for many plants. This group includes not only honeybees, but also many other kinds of bees that are more efficient at pollinating plants native to their region. Bees can be attracted by many companion plants, especially bee balm and pineapple sage for honeybees. Wasps, especially fig wasps are also beneficial as pollinators.

Ladybugs are generally thought of as beneficial because they eat large quantities of aphids, mites and other arthropods that feed on various plants.

Other insects commonly identified as beneficial include:

  • Aphid midges
  • Assassin bugs
  • Damsel bugs
  • Earwigs
  • Green lacewings
  • Ichneumon wasps
  • Minute pirate bugs
  • Fireflies
  • Praying Mantis
  • Soldier beetles
  • Syrphid flies
  • Tachinid flies
  • Trichogramma wasps

Attractive plants

Many plants in the family Asteraceae attract beneficial insects.

Plants in the families Apiaceae and Asteraceae are generally valuable companions. Here are other plants that attract beneficial insects:

  • Alfalfa
  • Alyssum
  • Borage
  • Calendula
  • Cilantro
  • Cosmos
  • Dandelion
  • Dill
  • Echinacea
  • Fennel
  • Hyssop
  • Lupin
  • Marigold
  • Milkweed
  • Nasturtium
  • Parsley
  • Phacelia
  • Queen Anne's lace
  • Rose
  • Rudbeckia
  • Sunflower
  • Wildflowers
  • Yarrow
  • Zinnia

References

Additional sources

References

  1. "Wasp Pollination". United States Department of Agriculture.
  2. [http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/farmscape.html "Farmscaping to Enhance Biological Control"] {{Webarchive. link. (2010-04-26 , ATTRA - National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service.)
  3. (2014). "Farming with Native Beneficial Insects: Ecological Pest Control Solutions". Storey Publishing.
  4. Miller, Carley. (2021-07-22). "16 Beneficial Garden Insects to Consider".
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

insects-in-culture
Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about Beneficial insect — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report