Beneficial insects Archives

Cute and generous, the common honeybee

These days, the domesticated honeybee often makes the news for sad reasons: populations are dwindling and environmental consequences are dire. Indeed, an individual honeybee is able to pollinate over 700 flowers an hour. This extraordinary performance makes it a precious ally in the vegetable patch and orchard.

Wasp, a reputation that deserves a makeover

Always a hassle around the picnic basket, sometimes even a painful sting, the wasp doesn’t seem to manage positive vibes, does it? But did you know its larva devours incredible amounts of insect pests that would otherwise damage our plants?

Red spider mite, best organic treatments to get rid of it

Red spider mite is a tiny mite of the Tetranychidae family. This sap-sucker infects indoor and outdoor plants.

Woodlouse, who would’ve guessed roly-polys were so useful?

The woodlouse is not a garden helper in the “classic” sense: it doesn’t hunt pests, nor does it help in pollination.

Aphids, how to get rid of them?

Aphids are fearsome insects that attack leaves and feed on plant sap. There are natural ways to treat against them. Leaves curl up and become sticky.

How to improve cross-pollination

It’s easy to enhance and improve cross-pollination for your target species. These different tips will help you cross-pollinate plants.

Thrips, tiny insects that infest plants

Thrips are tiny insects – nearly microscopic – that either destroy or protect plants.

Types of thrips – pests, predators and recyclers

Thrips exist by the thousands, but they can all be sorted out into three major types of thrips: pest thrips, predatory thrips, and

Predator wasp, a voracious feeder… of pests!

As soon as the word wasp is mentioned, we all shudder at the thought of that insect that somehow always finds ways to turn a nice family picnic into a frenzied gaggle of panicked people! But did you know there were a great many wasp varieties? One of which is particularly interesting: the predator wasp.

Hunting predator wasp with caterpillar prey

Beneficial insects that lend us gardeners a hand

These feed on pests, help plants reproduce, and give the soil better structure. Beneficial insects really give us a real hand in the garden!

Insects that are beneficial for the garden

Permaculture main principles and definition

Ready for your first steps in permaculture? Whether your garden be big or small, laid out already or still in the planning stages,

Permaculture principles is like a flywheel building up speed

Hoverfly: looks like a wasp, flies like a hummingbird, works like a bee!

The hoverfly: even if the name doesn’t ring a bell, you’ve probably seen them before and wondered what kind of insect this was. In spring and summer, one often sees them flying around, hovering at a standstill around melliferous flowers and trees.

Earwig, fearful pinchers we can rejoice about!

A long, thin body with terrifying plier-like pinchers at the tip, anybody will instantly recognize an earwig when it crawls along! In the garden, people often accuse it of damaging plants.

Ladybug, the assistant gardener

The Good Lord’s beetle is an incredible bug that feeds on aphids. It is the best of the gardener’s friends.

The ladybug lifecycle, helping us out at every stage

A 10th century legend, over a thousand years ago, relates the story of a man condemned to death for having murdered someone. As he claimed his innocence, a ladybug landed on his neck and the executioner stayed his ax.

Ladybug: the lifecycle of this precious garden assistant

Tomato pinworm, techniques and treatments to avoid and cure the disease

Tomato pinworms are native to South America, and appeared in France in 2009 in the Drôme area. Since then, they have invaded all of France and spread to other European countries as well.

Green lacewing, the genesis of aphid lions

Green lacewing also goes by more dramatic and telling names: golden-eyed fairy, aphid lion, aphid wolf… and each name reveals how much of a beneficial insect this is to a gardener trying to control pests. Larvae from this insect family seem to have a single goal in life: to devour aphids.

Impact of insecticides on garden butterflies and bumblebees

Large scale impact of pesticides on butterflies and bumblebees in private gardens in France.

White flowers visited by butterflies, wasps, bumblebees and more.

Ground beetle, its favorite food is slugs!

One of the most important beneficial insects in the garden is the ground beetle family. This fearsome predators have a voracious appetite which will certainly serve you well to control pests in your garden. Slugs and snails beware!

Attract animals to the garden

In these days of sustainable development and environmental protection, attracting animal and insect life in your garden is a necessity.

A deluxe insect hotel with holes, nooks and crannies for insects.

Mason bee, a solitary worker bee that burrows in the ground

Mason bee, Osmia, solitary bee… all these names designate the same pollinating insect. And don’t be fooled by its tiny scale! It is indeed able to pollinate as many flowers as its more famous cousin, the common honeybee.

Bumblebee, bumbling along and heavyweight pollinator

A voluminous body, a louder-than-usual buzz, and colorful fuzz all around – the bumblebee is easy to identify! A particularly active beneficial insect in the garden, it is a diligent pollinator that runs in the same class as the common honeybee: the heavyweight class!