Bugs
Not all the bugs are detrimental to your vegetables. And they reflect if you have a healthy ecosystem in your garden.
Beneficial bugs
Ladybugs, mantis, ground beetles, bees, etc.
Pest
Aphids, earwigs, squash bugs, roly poly, etc.
Native pollinators
bees, wasps, butterflies/moths, etc
Garden friends
Beneficial bugs
Ladybugs
It’s the predator of aphids, leafhoppers, mites, scale insects, thrips and whiteflies
Honey Bees
European honey bees are generalists – they forage on a wide variety of flowers.
Mantids
All mantids feed on any living prey they can grasp and manage, even small birds.
Spiders
They eat insects, including the unwanted pests.
Ground Beetles
They enjoy grasshoppers, slugs, aphids, caterpillars, ants, small larvae, insect eggs, etc.
Flower Beetles
Preying on aphids, caterpillars, lygus bug nymphs and whiteflies…
Parasitoid Wasp
Some species, adult female lays eggs in worms and larva feeds on the host.
UNWANTNED COMPANIES
Pest
These are the worst nightmares for most Utah gardeners. Catch them early otherwise they can destroy your garden in a short period of time.
Aphids
Those sap-sucking insects are often on unhealthy plants or plants got stressed.
Grubs
Turf loss? Their larvae feed on grass roots close to the surface.
Squash bugs
These tiny bugs can destroy your squash plants in a heartbroken rate.
Spider mites
They are hard to see with bare eyes but they’re notoriously hard to get rid of.
Earwigs
They like new shoots of plants and soft fruits but they also eat aphids and mites.
Grasshoppers
They can defoliate a tree, damage fruit, and even devour entire plants.
CONSERVATION
Pollinators
Most native insects are specialists—meaning they rely on specific plants to survive. They play a crucial role in efficiently pollinating native plants and providing essential food for birds and other wildlife.
Monarch butterflies
Unfortunately the Monarch population has dropped drastically and become fragile. The caterpillar only eats milkweed.
Hummingbird moth
It will morph into the beautiful white lined sphinx moth and becomes a great pollinator.
Tomato hornworm
Its hungry appetite earned a notorious reputation. However, its adult form, Five-spotted hawk moth, is a great pollinator.