Nature’s Helpers
Bees, hoverflies, ladybirds and the other insects and animals that do useful work in a garden.
The wasps worth keeping: predators and parasitoids in the vegetable patch
Most wasps in an Australian vegetable patch are hunting your caterpillars and aphids. Here is how to tell the parasitoids, mud nesters and paper wasps apart, what to do about the European wasp, and what to plant.
Lacewings: the aphid lion, and whether a lacewing hotel is worth building
Green and brown lacewings are different insects with different habits. How to spot the eggs on stalks and the aphid lion larva, what to sow to feed the adults, and what the evidence says about lacewing hotels.
Hoverflies: the aphid eater you keep mistaking for a caterpillar
The adult hoverfly pollinates, its larva eats aphids, and almost nobody recognises the larva. How to identify both in an Australian garden, what to sow so the flowers open before the aphids, and which sprays undo the work.
Ladybirds: how to tell the aphid eaters from the leaf eaters
Most Australian ladybirds are predators worth keeping, but two Epilachna species scrape your pumpkin and potato leaves. Tell them apart by the shine on the wing cases, the damage below, and the larvae.