🐞 10 Beneficial Bugs You Should Welcome To Your Garden

[TEG Project Manager]

When most people think of bugs in the garden, they imagine chewed-up leaves, creepy crawlies, and a mad dash for the insecticide. But not all bugs are bad—in fact, many of them are hardworking heroes helping your garden thrive in ways you might not even realize.

Let’s take a closer look (without the magnifying glass!) at 10 of the best beneficial insects you’ll want to attract and protect in your garden. These bugs pollinate your plants, keep pests in check, and even improve your soil. Ready to meet your garden's secret allies?

1. Ladybugs (aka Ladybirds)​

These little red-and-black beetles are the poster bugs for garden friendliness. Ladybugs—and especially their fierce-looking larvae—are voracious predators of aphids, mealybugs, and mites. A single ladybug can eat up to 50 aphids a day!

Want more ladybugs? Let a few dandelions or dill plants bloom and avoid using pesticides.

2. Lacewings​

Lacewings look delicate, almost like something out of a fairy tale, but their larvae are stone-cold predators. Sometimes called “aphid lions,” lacewing larvae gobble up aphids, thrips, whiteflies, and even small caterpillars.

They’re especially useful during the seedling stage when young plants are most vulnerable to pests.

Attract lacewings by planting cosmos, coriander, and yarrow.

3. Mason Bees​

You’ve heard about honeybees—but have you heard of mason bees? These gentle, solitary bees are champion pollinators. They don’t make honey or live in hives, but they can pollinate up to 100 times more flowers per day than a honeybee.

Mason bees don’t sting unless seriously provoked, making them garden- and kid-friendly.

Encourage them by hanging a mason bee house and planting lots of early-blooming flowers.

4. Soldier Beetles​

Often mistaken for fireflies, soldier beetles have soft bodies and a yellow or red trim. Their larvae live in soil and feast on soft-bodied pests, while adults patrol flowers and gobble up aphids.

To attract them, plant goldenrod, milkweed, and hydrangeas.

5. Spiders​

Okay, we get it—spiders are divisive. But these eight-legged hunters are some of the best natural pest control you could ask for. They trap or ambush beetles, flies, moths, and all sorts of plant-munching pests.

Most garden spiders are harmless to humans and play a critical role in balancing the ecosystem.

Just leave their webs alone, especially in corners and low-traffic areas.

6. Ground Beetles​

These nocturnal beetles are stealthy and fierce. They hide under mulch and leaf litter during the day, then come out at night to hunt slugs, cutworms, and caterpillars.

Their larvae live in the soil and feed on the eggs and larvae of other pests—making them a two-in-one defense system.

Avoid tilling the soil too much and provide habitat with rocks or mulch.

7. Hoverflies (aka Syrphid Flies)​

At first glance, you might mistake a hoverfly for a wasp—but don’t swat it! These striped, flying insects are excellent pollinators, and their larvae are aphid-eating machines.

Adult hoverflies love nectar and help pollinate a wide range of plants, while their young go to town on soft-bodied pests.

Attract them with flowers like alyssum, marigold, and calendula.

8. Parasitic Wasps​

They may sound scary, but parasitic wasps are tiny, non-stinging heroes that lay their eggs inside common garden pests like tomato hornworms, whiteflies, and cabbage worms. The developing larvae consume their host from the inside—gruesome, yes, but effective!

You’ll often spot the evidence: a hornworm covered in tiny white cocoons. That’s a win for your tomatoes.

Grow parsley, dill, or fennel to keep parasitic wasps coming back.

9. Predatory Stink Bugs​

Not to be confused with the plant-munching kind, predatory stink bugs feed on caterpillars, beetle larvae, and even the dreaded squash bug. They use a needle-like mouth to pierce and suck the juices out of their prey.

Provide flowering cover crops like buckwheat to encourage these armored warriors.

10. Earthworms​

Technically not bugs, but these squiggly soil-dwellers absolutely deserve a place on this list. Earthworms don’t fight pests, but they dramatically improve your soil. Their tunneling aerates the earth, and their castings (aka worm poop) are rich in nutrients that boost plant growth.

Want more worms? Ditch the synthetic fertilizers and mulch generously with compost and leaves.

Why Beneficial Bugs Matter​

When your garden supports a diverse population of insects, nature takes care of many of your problems for you. Fewer aphids, healthier plants, more pollination—what’s not to love?

Using chemical pesticides often wipes out these good guys along with the pests, creating a vicious cycle of more bugs and more sprays. Instead, when you work with nature, you’ll find your garden becomes healthier and more resilient over time.

How to Make Your Garden Bug-Friendly​

Here are a few quick tips to turn your garden into a haven for beneficial bugs:

• Plant a wide variety of flowers, especially ones with open blooms
• Avoid chemical sprays (even organic ones can harm good insects)
• Provide shelter with mulch, logs, or rock piles
• Offer shallow water sources (a bowl with pebbles works great)
• Let a few “weeds” bloom—like dandelions and Queen Anne’s lace

Final Thoughts​

Not every garden savior wears a cape—some wear stripes, some scuttle under the mulch, and some buzz around your flowers. By learning to recognize and protect these beneficial bugs, you’re taking a big step toward a naturally balanced, low-maintenance, and abundant garden.

So next time you spot a mystery critter crawling across your tomato plant, take a moment to ask: “Friend or foe?” You just might find that the garden’s unsung heroes have been there all along, quietly working for your harvest.

Spotted any beneficial bugs lately? Share your sightings or tips in the comments—we’d love to hear what’s thriving in your garden!

 

[digitS']

It is interesting how bug populations rise and fall. For some time, I thought that this location always had an abundance of lacewings. In recent years, there have been very few of these beneficials.

Hover flies are out in good numbers right now. It was good to learn a few years ago of their helpful nature. I am constantly seeing centipedes around, especially when I am digging through compost. Millipedes are uncommon. Perhaps both of these fit into the "beneficial bugs" category.

@Triffid has some recent posts sharing insights re parasitic wasps. Our yellow jackets and bald-face hornets also kill garden pests. Just a few days ago, I saw that one had a leaf miner and was devouring it on a beet leaf.

DD is trying to convince her SO of the value of spiders. I try to catch those that show up in hour house and carry them outside. Once, I watched as a spider began making his way down the wall to where I could place a glass jar over the top of him. He seemed to be carrying something. As soon as I had him under he jar, and before I slide a piece of paper under it to scare him into crawling onto the glass, he attached what he had been carrying to the wall. It was another spider!

We cannot expect these critters to always be of benefit, as we define it. I know that parasitic wasps attack insects that damage our garden plants but, did you know that there are "spider wasps?" They sting spiders and the spider is used as food for the wasp's larvae. I saw one just the other day dragging a harvestman spider backwards along the greenhouse floor until he had the spider on top of the foundation sill. I don't know where the wasp moved it from there. The wasps show up on flowers, obviously joining the other wasps drinking nectar. Hopefully, they are also eating insects that are damaging our crops and not just killing spiders for egglaying.

Of course, there is quite a lot of pollinating bugs can do at this time of year. The clover in my lawn began to bloom recently and after a few days, the honey bees began to show up in good numbers. Every year this happens, altho I know of no nearby hives. I think that it is unfortunate that others don't include white clover seed in their lawn mix. I suppose that it has to do with the willingness to use lawn herbicides.

Steve

 

[digitS']

Achillea millefolium — Yarrow has begun to bloom along roadsides and such. This article in Science Daily on a study in Europe LINK puts it at the top of the list for attracting pollinators.

The USDA notes yarrow in North America as both native and introduced ... The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center explains that it is a diverse species. Okay. It's out there and the Science Daily article lists others.

Steve