Comments on: Your Beneficial Insect Army – We Salute You! http://goorganicgardening.com/garden-pests-diseases/your-benefical-insect-army Tips on organic gardening, composting and natural methods to grow a vibrant, healthy garden. Sun, 20 May 2012 09:38:11 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Stu http://goorganicgardening.com/garden-pests-diseases/your-benefical-insect-army/comment-page-1#comment-711 Stu Sat, 28 Feb 2009 01:38:06 +0000 http://goorganicgardening.com/?p=729#comment-711 Super article! Full of just the right amount of info to make sense! We get quite a lot of praying mantis on our plants at the garden center, and we make sure customers realize how beneficial they are when they start freaking out about the "big bugs" on the plant they're purchasing! Super article! Full of just the right amount of info to make sense!
We get quite a lot of praying mantis on our plants at the garden center, and we make sure customers realize how beneficial they are when they start freaking out about the “big bugs” on the plant they’re purchasing!

]]> By: Chris http://goorganicgardening.com/garden-pests-diseases/your-benefical-insect-army/comment-page-1#comment-709 Chris Thu, 26 Feb 2009 15:00:21 +0000 http://goorganicgardening.com/?p=729#comment-709 I myself have lots of ladybugs, because I have lots of nectar plants and herbs like dill in my yard. They love them, and I have sources for garnish (the dill, not the ladybugs!) I myself have lots of ladybugs, because I have lots of nectar plants and herbs like dill in my yard. They love them, and I have sources for garnish (the dill, not the ladybugs!)

]]> By: Buglady http://goorganicgardening.com/garden-pests-diseases/your-benefical-insect-army/comment-page-1#comment-707 Buglady Thu, 26 Feb 2009 06:23:41 +0000 http://goorganicgardening.com/?p=729#comment-707 Purchased ladybugs are harvested from the wild in Sierra Nevada foothills where they migrate in spring as the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys warm up. There they rest and breed on the floor of pine forests in large numbers. Humans come along and scoop them up, removing them from their native habitat. They are then taken to coolers for storage until they are going to be shipped. One they arrive and are released in someone yard they usually migrate before feeding or laying eggs, providing little or no control for your pests. Another concern is research is shown harvested ladybugs can carry a parasitic wasp, Perilitus coccinellae. It develops as an internal parasite of lady beetles and kills them. Researchers have also shown they carry Metarhizium. Harvesting ladybugs from the wild is not environmentally friendly. If you want ladybugs the best thing to do is attract them in naturally with planting things like, dill, yarrow and other assorted flowering plants. If you want to do a release of a beneficial insects release laboratory reared lacewings. They will do an excellent job of feeding on plant pests such as aphids, mealybugs, scale and others. Purchased ladybugs are harvested from the wild in Sierra Nevada foothills where they migrate in spring as the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys warm up. There they rest and breed on the floor of pine forests in large numbers. Humans come along and scoop them up, removing them from their native habitat. They are then taken to coolers for storage until they are going to be shipped.

One they arrive and are released in someone yard they usually migrate before feeding or laying eggs, providing little or no control for your pests. Another concern is research is shown harvested ladybugs can carry a parasitic wasp, Perilitus coccinellae. It develops as an internal parasite of lady beetles and kills them. Researchers have also shown they carry Metarhizium.

Harvesting ladybugs from the wild is not environmentally friendly.

If you want ladybugs the best thing to do is attract them in naturally with planting things like, dill, yarrow and other assorted flowering plants. If you want to do a release of a beneficial insects release laboratory reared lacewings. They will do an excellent job of feeding on plant pests such as aphids, mealybugs, scale and others.

]]> By: Plant & Gardening Tips http://goorganicgardening.com/garden-pests-diseases/your-benefical-insect-army/comment-page-1#comment-705 Plant & Gardening Tips Thu, 26 Feb 2009 01:48:25 +0000 http://goorganicgardening.com/?p=729#comment-705 We have a lot of ladybugs on my garden. We have a lot of ladybugs on my garden.

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