Predatory and Parasitic Insects

There are two specific types of beneficial insects that can help keep pests in check. Predatory insects are beneficial because they feed directly on other insects like aphids. Common predatory insects include lacewings, ladybugs, and praying mantids. Parasites, mainly wasps or flies, lay eggs either in or on specific host insects. For example, larra wasps lay their eggs on the bodies of the mole crickets. As larvae develop, they consume their hosts.

UF/IFAS Sites

• Beneficial Organisms: Predators and Parasites
• Featured Creatures: Florida Predatory Stink Bug, Euthyrhynchus floridanus
• IFAS News: Predatory Mite Could Put the Bite on Invasive Crop Pest

UF/IFAS Publications

• A Cockroach Egg Parasitoid, Evania appendigaster
• Good Insects (PDF)
• Kinds of Natural Enemies: Predators (PDF)
• Larra Wasps, Larra analis Fabricius (Mole Cricket Hunters)
• A Parasitoid Wasp, Diachasmimorpha longicaudata
• Predatory Gall Midge, Feltiella acarisuga
• Wheel Bug, Arilus cristatus

Also on Gardening in a Minute

• Beneficial Insects
• Controlling Mole Crickets Naturally
• Dragonflies
• Garden Spiders
• Lacewings
• Ladybugs
• Praying Mantid

Other Sites

• Biological Control: Parasitoids--Cornell (NY) University
• Biological Control: Predators--Cornell (NY) University
• Insect Parasitic Nematodes--Colorado State University Extension
• Parasitic Wasp--Texas AgriLife Extension
• Predator Cockroaches Roam Texas Cotton Fields--eXtension.org