beneficial insects

What You Need to Create a Wildlife Friendly Garden

ZÜRICH, WEINEGG QUARTER (RIESBACH, DISTRICT : BOTANICAL GARDEN, POND AND PARTS OF THE ARBORETUM Image via Wikipedia

Many home owners across the UK have added decking or large patio areas to their gardens. This looks great, and it cuts down on the amount of lawn and garden requiring weekly attention particularly during the summer months.

But, our desire for maintenance free gardening has had an effect on wildlife particularly in the more built-up areas in towns and cities. Small creatures, which once thrived across the UK are becoming a rare siting.

You can make a difference, though, by making your garden a wildlife-friendly haven. This will involve some fairly simple and common sense ideas depending on whether you are starting a new garden or have an established one.

But, basically wildlife need water, food and somewhere safe to shelter and breed. (more…)

How to Identify Harmless Bugs on Your Property

Mar 3rd, 2011

by Dragonfly Lore.

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Often listed as a top fear of even the toughest people, bugs can be disturbing little creatures. They carry disease, bite and sting to protect them and travel in swarms so homeowners often find they are dealing with millions of little problems.

However, it is important to remember that not all bugs are bad. The occasional helpful little creature crawling here or there may do more good than you realize.

The trick is figuring out which bugs to let go to do their handy work and which ones to combat with the services of exterminators. Many people call Orkin at the first sight of an insect, but it is better to let some bugs go. (more…)

Enjoying the Benefits of Good Bugs

Jan 24th, 2011

by Dragonfly Lore.

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2008-09-20- 356_1 Dragonfly on wing (London We...

Image by Martin-James via Flickr

Some people hate bugs. It does not matter if they crawl, fly, bite, sting, or stink, they are disliked and there is nothing they can do to change it. Unfortunately, people often forget how beneficial insects can be. People do all they can to irradiate bugs from their homes and outdoor spaces, and while an infestation of anything should be treated as soon as possible, the occasional creepy-crawly may be making your home environment far more pleasant.

A lot of people are scared of spiders, but the truth is spiders do a lot of good. If you are trying to eliminate other bugs in your home, spiders are sure to do it. They weave their webs that trap flies and other nuisance bugs, creating a home in which there may be a few spiders, but bugs that are unsanitary will not be an issue.

If you are frightened by spiders and worried about their presence in your home, take some time to learn about what they do on a regular basis. Get up early one morning and hunt for fresh webs throughout your house. There are few things in nature that are more amazing than a complete web, covered with light dew, reflecting the light, and serving as a comfortable lair for your household spiders.

Dragonflies rarely scare people, but if you see too many of them it can be alarming. In some areas, dragonflies descend and seem like a buzzing army. Dragonflies usually do not make it indoors, but if you have them in your yard, you are sure to suffer from fewer mosquitoes and other nuisance bugs.

Dragonflies are also colorful and fun to watch. Kids love dragonflies, even if they are put off by other insects. They are larger than the average bug, but because they are attractive, people do not seem to mind. (more…)

Dragonfly Pictures

Jan 5th, 2011

by Dragonfly Lore.

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: Broad-Bodied Chaser dragonfly. Image via Wikipedia

What is dragonfly? This is a small creature that is a part of the insect family of Odonata.

In Greek, the word Odonata simply means tooth and because dragonfly are thought as an insect that actually bites and not sting, the root word perfectly describes them. Nevertheless, their exotic look and natural beauty as an insect makes them an ideal dragonfly pictures display or designs for home.

Yes! It is true that a dragonfly bites and not sting however, they bite not people but other insects as they fought for their food. Another interesting fact that you ought to know about these small creatures is that due to their passion or likeness for other insects as their food, they are called beneficial insects.

Dragonfly are also called by two names the darning needles and horse stingers, due to the sharpness and strong needles that is also elongated are the reasons they are known for their bites. While resting they stretched their wings out that is usually about 5 in or 12.7 cm long.

These beautiful insects are slender, smaller but more often than not full of color. They lay eggs either near the water or on it. Since they are also aquatic and can breathe in the water as they have gills in the back of their abdomen, the gills that they used for propulsion in the water. They feed on other insects larvae only.

This insect has about 6500 different species and they are divided into 600 genera. These are the actual number of dragonflies that have been identified and named.

In North America, the dragonfly species that has been confirmed and identified already range from 450 of Odonata species and that only the 11 known identified insects were be divided into different genera

Moreover, in United States alone the number of identified Odonata is well over 200 Odonata species, and that the bulk of them are found in Texas making this states the dragonfly capital.

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