From staff reports

news@joplinglobe.com

Not all insects found in your garden are ones that you should get bugged about.

They eat the bad insects that can harm your garden and also help provide the valuable nutrients that it needs.

Beneficial insects include:

Bees: They’re important for pollination

Wasps: They eat aphids, mites, whiteflies, caterpillar eggs, moth larvae, beetles and corn earwigs.

Praying mantis: They eat aphids.

Ladybugs: They eat aphids, mealy bugs and mites.

Beetles: They ground beetles, eat caterpillars, slugs and cut worms.

Spiders: They eat lots of different pests.

Green lacewings: They eat aphids, mites and variety of pest eggs.

You can purchase these insects in at a variety of nurseries or attract them to your garden by using specific plants.