BENEFICIAL INSECTS

Assassin bugs are generally black or brown, but many are brightly colored, and 1/2 to 1 inch in length. The head is elongate with a short, curved beak, which is used like a needle to inject venom into soft-bodied prey like flies, mosquitoes, earthworms, aphids and others. Nymphs are just as effective in controlling pests as adults. There are more than 160 North American species, and 3,000 worldwide. They will inflict a painful bite if handled. An example of an assassin bug is the wheel bug. It gets its name from the semicircular crest on the thorax that resembles a cog wheel.

Bees are among the most important pollinators. With decimation of native honeybee colonies from disease and mites, ground-dwelling bumble bees, have become more important.

Lady beetles are among the best known and most beneficial insects. There are about 475 species occurring in North America. Both the adults and larvae of lady beetles consume aphids, immature scale insects, mealybugs, mites and other soft-bodied insect pests as well as insect eggs. Adult lady beetles are oval shaped and most are orange or reddish with black markings. Most lady beetles are about 1/4 inch long.

Many lady beetle larvae are elongate, somewhat flattened and covered with small spines. They are usually dark or black with bright colored spots or bands. The legs are long and slender. Some lady beetle larvae are covered with a white flocculent secretion and resemble pest mealy bugs. Studies have found that 200-500 aphids are consumed during the larval stage. The adults are usually even more voracious.

These beautiful creatures are valuable pollinators and contribute esthetically to our gardens. However, caterpillars of some butterflies can damage plants by defoliating them. More than 100 species of butterflies occur in Florida.

This insect resembles a chinch bug except for its enlarged eyes. They love to eat chinch bugs, small caterpillars and soft-bodied insects on the soil surface. They are up to 1/8 inch long.

This large yellow butterfly has a wingspan of 2 inches. It migrates through Florida annually and shows a preference for red blossoms such as those of the shrimp plant, railroad vine, turk's cap and hibiscus. The caterpillar has a pebbly surface and bears a distinct lateral yellow stripe running the length of the body. The larvae feed on Cassia.

The adult butterfly has a wingspan of 3 to 6 inches. The upper surface of the wings is brown with a row of large yellow spots along the margins and a prominent diagonal yellow band. It is often seen taking moisture at mud puddles and at damp sand. The giant swallowtail larva is a caterpillar 1-2 inches long with a blotchy brown and white pattern. It can look like bird droppings. These caterpillars feed primarily on citrus in Florida and are called 'orange dogs' because they are often found in orange groves.

The monarch may be the most familiar U. S. butterfly. It has gotten lots of publicity because of its migratory flights to Mexico, although it can maintain residence year-round in South Florida. It is bright orange, with a white-spotted black border with black-outlined veins. The male has a black patch in the middle of each hindwing. The larval caterpillars are dramatically ringed with yellow, black and white on each segment. Adults feed on and pollinate many perennial flowers, especially the milkweeds.

Dragonflies, also nicknamed "mosquito hawks" consume significant numbers of mosquitoes and other flying insects. They are sensitive to pesticides and their presence indicates an environmentally friendly garden. Dragonfly nymphs are aquatic and can help to control mosquito larvae before they become biting adults.

Many earwigs are predaceous upon lawn insect pests such as chinch bugs, small mole crickets and sod webworms. This is a large species up to 1 inch long with mandible-like pincers in the abdomen. In laboratory observations they consume up to 50 chinch bugs a day.

Syrphid flies are commonly found on flowers and are also known as flower flies or hover flies. This is a large group consisting of about 900 North American species. The flies vary greatly in color and size, but most are yellow with brown or black bands on the abdomen. Many resemble wasps, others closely resemble bees, but none sting. The flies have the ability to hover in flight for long periods. Many syrphid fly larvae are predaceous especially on aphids.

Tachinid flies are parasitic in the larval stage and are a valuable asset in keeping many of our serious pests in check. There are about 1,300 North American species. Many tachinids resemble the common housefly, but are a little larger. Others are bee- or wasp-like in appearance. One tachinid fly, the red-eyed fly, was brought in from South America as a biological control for the mole cricket.

This spider is found throughout Florida. The female is distinctively colored and among the largest orb-weaving spiders in the country. Males are small, dark brown in color and often found in the webs of females. These spiders feed primarily on flying insects, which they catch in webs that may be more than a meter in diameter. They are most commonly found in forests, along trails and at clearing edges.

This spider is commonly encountered on shrubs, weeds, and foliage. The body is a vivid, almost transparent green, with red spots and some white markings. The legs are long, slender and covered at intervals with long black spines. These spiders have good eyesight and stalk their prey during daylight. They spin no webs but sometimes anchor themselves with silk. They are important predators of caterpillars.

All species are small, usually less than 15 mm long. They are identified by their eye arrangement, which is in three rows. Jumping spiders do not construct webs, but actively hunt prey during the day, pouncing on victims. Many are brightly colored, sometimes with iridescent mouthparts.

Spiders are not true insects, but arachnids. They feed on a wide variety of insects. The majority captures their prey in webs, but some such as the jumping spider, pounce on victims. The latter are especially effective in capturing insects that inhabit the soil surface or plant foliage. Only a few spiders such as the black and brown widow, tarantula, and brown recluse are poisonous to man.

Lacewings are common insects, found on weeds, cultivated row crops and shrubs. They are greenish or brownish, about 3/4 inch in length. The wings are transparent with many veins. About 87 species occur in North America. The adults may be predaceous or feed on pollen. Lacewing larvae are elongate and have large sickle-shaped mandibles. They are commonly called aphid lions and feed on aphids, other small insects and eggs.

About 475 species occur in North America. Both adults and larvae are predaceous on aphids, mealy bugs, mites, scale and other pest insects, eating scores in a given day. Adults are oval-shaped with orange, or reddish with black markings or black with yellow or red markings. Most are about 1/4 inch long. The larvae are elongate, flattened with small spines, usually dark or black with brightly colored spots or bands.

These are large, scary-looking insects usually more than 2 inches long, and may be green or brown. There are only 20 species in the U. S. and Canada but more than 1,500 worldwide. The front legs are modified for grasping and holding prey. They wait patiently among the foliage, legs in an upraised position, for unsuspecting insects. Mantids have a triangular head and are the only insects able to look over their shoulder. The egg capsules of mantids contain 200 or more eggs arranged in a pattern deposited on twigs or stems.

The most familiar stinkbugs to gardeners are those that are crop destroying. However some stinkbugs are beneficial. These can be identified by spines projecting from their thoraxes, whereas plant feeders have round shoulders. The predaceous forms also have short, stout beaks while plant-feeding forms have long, thin mouthparts. The predators feed on many insects, especially caterpillars.

This wasp is 16mm long and back in color with pale yellow markings on the last three abdominal segments. It is a solitary wasp but colonies nest in the same location, each female digging a hole up to 10 inches deep. It stings and paralyzes cicadas and a closely related species attacks and kills flies.

Parasitic wasps are an extremely important and large group of beneficial insects with about 16,000 species occurring in North America. These wasps are very small, most less than 1/8 inch long and usually not noticed. Some wasp larvae feed and pupate inside the host and the emerging wasp leaves a small circular hole in the body of the host as evidence of parasitism. Many harmful insects such as aphids, whiteflies, scales, leafminers and caterpillars are parasitized. Other parasite larvae live on the outside of its host where they construct numerous small, white cocoons attaching to the body of the host.

Also called paper wasps, they are primarily predators of caterpillars. The caterpillars are stung and paralyzed then placed in the individual cells or chambers of the nest as food for developing wasp larvae.

It is about 12 mm long and has alternating yellow and black markings on the abdomen. The wasp is very aggressive in defending itself or its nest. The stinger is not barbed so the wasp can sting repeatedly.