Lotusland's Best Management Practices for Attracting Beneficial Insects and Butterflies

Good bugs are a natural army of pest control allies and it is important to provide them with suitable living conditions if you expect their help. In order to reproduce, beneficial insects need nectar and pollen. If they don't find it in your garden (and they are very particular - just any old flowers won't do), they will leave and usually not return.

For example, syrphid (flower) flies must feed on pollen or nectar to mature their eggs. Many other insects use pollen and nectar to sustain them, allowing them to survive longer, produce more progeny, and provide a higher level of biological control. Having these flowering plants available to provide supplementary food can greatly increase the beneficial activities of these natural enemies. But the majority of plants produce flowers that are not accessible to these insects whose mouthparts are shorter than other, more well-known, nectar feeders such as bees and butterflies. Nectar-producing flowers with short tubes (mint and cabbage families) or nectaries accessible from outside the flower (legumes and spurges) are two kinds that will provide sustenance to a wide range of insects. Plants that produce many flowers in a single head such as in the sunflower family and the carrot family are also very attractive to beneficial insects.

Designing a beneficial insect planting entails providing them with a year-round, supplemental source of food (pollen, nectar, and sometimes, prey), even when pest populations are low. The goal is to create refuges for the natural enemies of your garden pests.

A comprehensive list of butterfly and beneficial insect attracting plants:
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A list of plants that attract butterflies:
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A list of butterflies that are seen at Lotusland:
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