Insects are incredibly adaptable creatures and have evolved to live successfully in most environments on earth, including deserts and even the Antarctic. Insects are generally regarded as bad creatures but they are extremely useful to humans, pollinating our crops as well as flowers in meadows, forests, deserts and other areas. Insects are vital to the immense cycle of life, furnishing food for other creatures and breaking down natural materials to chemicals and nutrients for recycling into new life. Believe it or not, they are the biggest group of animals on earth, and there are more than 800,000 different kinds (or species) of them

In the Garden

Gardening tips: The intelligent gardener promotes sustainable gardening that is safe for the local environment. When it becomes necessary to use chemicals to control and eliminate an infestation of destructive garden insects, he considers these pesticides and herbicides to be a tool, and a necessity to protect his plants. Consider putting these beneficial insects to work for you, in your garden and hopefully reduce or eliminate the need for much of the use of insecticides in the home garden. You can also purchase many good bugs at most larger nurseries and garden centres, but you will still want to provide them with suitable plants. After the adults are released into the garden they will immediately seek out mealy bugs and consume them. Once you have made the decision to utilize beneficial insects to help you with your pest control in your garden, keep in mind that insecticides are no longer an appropriate option.

Pests

Actually, less than one percent of insect species are pests, and only a few hundred of these are consistently a problem. Any single pesticide does not usually kill all pests and repeat applications are usually necessary. I always had an organic garden, and I tried getting rid of these nasty pests with organic spray but it didn't work. Today, entomologists are encouraging people to use another way to control pests . Here are some that entomologists are working with: Natural predators: introducing the types of animals that will naturally gobble up pests. Natural parasites: introducing bacteria, viruses, and insect parasites that will kill pests but won't harm other types of animals. If you are having a problem with pests in your garden, you probably have an imbalance of fauna or an imbalance of soil nutrients.

Ants

Ants also protect plants; a species of ant lives on the acacia tree and when these ants smell a mammal, they go on alert ready to sting anything that would take a nibble of a leaf. Ants are social animals and live in colonies, sometimes these colonies may contain only 50 or so individuals, but, one super colony of Formica yessensis on the coast of Japan is reported to have had 1,080,000 queens. Ants construct their nests with mazes of tunnels, galleries and rooms for storing food, laying eggs and raising young. Scientists estimate that 10% of the animal biomass of the world is ants, and another 10% is termites. They are also so important in the breakdown of plant and animal matter, that without them, we would have a world covered with dead plants and animals. By taking a few simple precautions, you can lessen the chances of insects attacking your plants considerably. This also applies to any of your plants that may have been outside for the summer. Examine your plants now and then, don't wait for them to start looking sad.

Good or Bad ? Insects are directly beneficial to humans by producing honey, silk, wax, and other products. Good insects are Mother Nature's way of controlling insect pests. Not all insects are pests; in fact, a great many of them are beneficial to man. Insecticides do not only kill pest insects; sometimes many helpful insects are killed too.

About the Author

Author: Robert William Locke . colbor@yahoo.com Specialising in Health and Fitness and Gardening. Read more about the insects and all the other creepy crawlies in your garden and a possible solution to your problem by visiting:- http://tinyurl.com/2udl9n