Getting friendly with backyard bugs isn't always the most appealing part of gardening. However, with these five insects in your botanical haven, your pest-free blooming flowers and tasty veggies will convince you that these are some of the best friends a gardener can have!

Soldier Bug - These hungry little critters will feed on many garden pests including Mexican bean beetles, cabbage loopers, diamondback moths, armyworm and other caterpillars, flea beetles and Colorado potato beetles. They are common in the east around deciduous forests and meadows which provide cover for the adults to survive the winter.

Lady Bird Beetle - (OR Ladybug) These pretty little bugs are everyone's favorite and its more that their colorful looks that have earned them this status. Lady Bird Beetles feed on aphids, which attack a multitude of crops from vegetables to strawberries, grain crops to legumes and even trees and flowers. If aphids are scarce, lady beetle adults and larvae may feed on the eggs of moths and beetles, mites, and other small insects, as well as pollen and nectar.

Green Lacewing - The light green, and little known, lacewing has transparent wings and grows to about _ of an inch in length. They feed primarily on aphids but can also be seen munching on mealy bugs, red spider mites, some small worms and many types of insect eggs and larvae. The lacewing larvae feed for about three weeks before spinning a white cottony cocoon which they emerge from in about 1 week as an adult.

Ground Beetle- These large dark colored beetles hide under rocks or logs during day light hours and come out at night to feed. Their favorite foods include caterpillars, root maggots, snails, and other soft bodied insects. With more than 2200 species, Ground Beetles make up one of the largest groups of beetles in North America. Although there is some variation in their body shape and coloring, most are shiny and black and have ridged wing covers.

Mason Bee - These gentle bees make there home in existing holes in wood structures. They are excellent pollinators especially for fruit bearing trees. Mason Bee nests can be made by drilling holes 1/4 to 3/8 inches in diameter and 3 to 6 inches deep in pine or fir 4x4 and attaching the board to a wooden structure in close proximity to mud, which they will use to make their nests, and flowers.

Encouraging natural insect predators is a healthy and environmentally friendly alternative to pesticide use. By increasing the diversity of insects in your garden and yard, you will foster richness and variety in your backyard wildlife sanctuary.

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