Top 10 beneficial insects for your garden or allotment

Learning about allotment wildlife can be quite interesting and encouraging beneficial insects in your green spaces can help you stave off any predators or pests that are eyeing up your plants.

1. Earthworms

The humble earthworms plays an important part in composting and decomposition. They help break up the soil and assist in keeping your soil turned over. These are also great to have in your compost bin.

2. Ladybirds

Ladybirds are hungry little creatures and can consume up to 50 to 60 aphids per day.  They’ll also make short work of a variety of other insects and larvae including scales, mealy bugs, leaf hoppers, mites, and various types of soft-bodied insects.

3. Bees

Bees! Probably one of the most important insects on the face of this worth. Bees pollinate a third of all consumable plants and also play an important role in the planet’s ecosystems.  84% of the crops grown for human consumption need bees and other insects to pollinate them.

4. Damsel Bugs

Damsel bugs eat a wide variety of prey including insect eggs, caterpillars, mites, and aphids. Keep these on side!

5. Tachinid Flies

Tachinid flies are very good at killing unwelcome garden pests as well as pollinating gardens. They can also live at higher altitudes where bees cannot.

4. Ground beetles

Most ground beetles feed at ground level, however, some ground beetles are ambitious and will climb plants to feed on aphids and small caterpillars.

5. Hoverfly

The hoverfly larvae  feed on a wide range of foods including decaying plant or animal matter. Grown hoverflies enjoy eating aphids, thrips, and other plant-sucking pests.

6. Woodlice

Woodlice often congregate in compost heaps, where they help break down the plant material and are a useful part of the decomposition process.

7. Wasps

Wasps are hungry creatures and have been known to feast on caterpillars, flies and spiders making their diets one of the most comprehensive.

10. Spiders

Spiders are good for your garden. Nothing else at the allotment or garden consumes as many garden pests as spiders do.  These beneficial insects spend all day constructing a web and a nest in the hope of landing their next meal.