UC Master Gardeners, Santa Clara County, CA
University of California
UC Master Gardeners, Santa Clara County, CA

Monthly Tip

Identifying Beneficial Insects

Tip description

Saxon wasp on patrol, Nature-Pix, Pixabay
A whole army of insects is in your garden ready to help your plants thrive. Pollinators, like bees and butterflies, help plants produce fruit. Lady beetles and lacewings are predators that hunt, kill, and eat insects. And parasites, like certain wasps, develop within a pest’s body and then kill them. Such violence! The trick is knowing which insects are friends or foes. To identify the insects on your own, take pictures of them and any eggs or larvae (check the undersides of leaves). Then zoom in for a closer view and use this site to help you identify beneficial insects.

More information: Beneficial Insects

Months applicable
  • March
  • April
  • May
  • June
  • July
  • August
  • September
Category
  • 3. Pests and Diseases

Top of page

Webmaster Email: webmaster-mgsantaclara@ucanr.edu