In the continuous battle raging in the backyard between the good, the bad and the downright ugly, it's a good idea as gardeners to know more about who is who before we drop the insecticidal bomb and devastate the whole countryside. To us plant lovers, there are the bad bugs who eat our plants and the good bugs who eat the bugs who eat our plants. Most pesticides can affect all species of insects and those at the bottom of the food chain-the plant eaters-will be the first to return to the lush green garden while the bug eaters won't move back in until the food supply picks up again. So it makes sense to protect and encourage the good guys and hope by those efforts they will far outnumber the bad guys without starving to death.

Along with the familiar old bad bugs munching away at the cabbage, the tomatoes, and the hibiscus, there's a whole range of good bugs out there doing what they do best(eating)to rid our gardens of the ugly pests. Most people are familiar with the lady beetle and his/her way with aphids. Some people know the praying mantis (now here's a scary-looking creature) can also pay dividends in the garden.

Some less well-known insects, such as the aphid midge, are worth having around the garden too. Adults are delicate, long-legged 1/16" flies that resemble mosquitoes and are active at night. Their larvae feed on 60 species of aphids.

Adult braconid wasps are small, slender, black or brown, 1/10 to ½" long with threadlike waists. Their larvae feed on hornworms, cabbageworms, elm bark beetles, armyworms and aphids. And female ichneumon wasps are slender, dark-colored, wasps the same size but with long antennae. They lay their eggs inside host insect eggs, larvae or caterpillars leaving the babies to hatch then eat their way out--not a pretty picture.

Sweet little green lacewings, green fliers with almost transparent lacy wings, are common general predators in the garden. However only a mother could love the sight of a spined soldier bug--they look a lot like stink bugs. They eat caterpillars including tent caterpillars and fall armyworms. Even plain old soldier beetles (resembling fireflies) eat cucumber beetles, grasshopper eggs and caterpillars.

More than 2,500 species of ground beetles use slugs, snails, cutworms and cabbage root maggots for food. Their larvae can consume 50 caterpillars each while growing into a hungry adult protecting the garden two or three more years.

Even centipedes can be beneficial when they are eating the mites and insects living underground, but they occasionally will feed on plants and earthworms too.

Several other bad guys have had the good sense to disguise themselves as good guys. So be careful when identifying the insects around your home. Use pesticides rarely and selectively. Rather than nuking the entire population, nurture nature with awareness that not all bugs are all bad.