Have you ever heard the childhood ditty “Lady Bug, Lady Bug, fly away home | Your house is on fire, | Your children will burn”? Little did we realize this diminutive red, black spotted insect was our good friend. Later we learned the lady bug, lady bird or lady beetle feeds on destructive scale insects, plant lice and insect eggs. In the West lady bugs were grown commercially and shipped, while partially dormant, to work on insect infested peach orchards.
The ichneumon fly, another welcome garden guest, deposits eggs on the bodies of undesirable tree and plant-destroying insects. The resulting larvae feed on the bodies of the unwitting host.
Another pal, the praying mantis got its name from the way it holds its strong front legs clasped in prayer. First introduced in Pennsylvania in 1895, the Oriental species is widely distributed in the eastern United States. About the size of a mosquito when it is born, the mantis soon learns to gorge itself on almost any harmful insect. Full grown specimens are 3 or 4 inches long. Protective coloration, a head that pivots almost all the way around, and long, clawlike forelegs equip it for ruthless hunting.
Consider yourself fortunate if that hopping amphibian, the toad, establishes residence in your garden. It will patrol among plants and shrubs, claiming bug morsels with its long, sticky tongue. Few insects escape its range.
