15 Insects You'll Love (and How to Make Them Feel at Home)

This post may contain affiliate links.

Did you know that the Earth may, in fact, be host to as many as 10 million species of insects? The Royal Entomological Society notes that there are around 1.4 billion insects for every person on Earth. However, a 2020 study published in Science magazine says that we are losing roughly 9 percent of the planet’s terrestrial insect population each decade.

Insects get a bad rap, but not all are pesky pests. In fact, many are important to our ecosystems, helping pollinate, control pests, and even foster healthy soil. Don’t chase them off your garden; make it a habitat for these helpful critters instead!

These delicate pollinators and hardworking decomposers are the key to keeping our planet healthy and balanced. Here are 15 bugs you’ll love and easy ways to attract them to your yard or garden!

Honeybees: Nature’s Pollination Powerhouses

The honeybee is integral to pollinating crops and flowers. In fact, the honeybee pollinates one-third of the food we eat. There are many fruits and vegetables that would not exist if it weren’t for them!

Plant nectar-rich lavender, sunflowers, and wildflowers to welcome these busy bees. Keep pesticides away and have a shallow water dish with stones for them to land on and rehydrate.

Butterflies: Graceful Garden Guests

Butterflies aren’t just beautiful; they are also important pollinators. Their presence gives plants a little magic and helps them reproduce. A butterfly’s life span is generally about 2 weeks to a month.

Grow native flowering plants and shrubs and provide puddling stations, moist sand, or mud to attract monarchs. Plant host plants (milkweed) that cater to their caterpillar stage.

Ground Beetles: Nighttime Pest Patrol

Did you know that ground beetles are one of the largest beetle families, with around 40,000 species found worldwide? These quick-moving, shiny bugs are a gardener’s secret weapon. Nocturnal predators, ground beetles will eat slugs, caterpillars, and other pests in your garden.

Give them a bit of mulch or leaf litter to shelter in, and they will repay you with free natural pest control. They barely require any extra effort; all they need is a welcoming habitat.

Lacewings: Delicate But Deadly to Pests

Lacewings are dainty-looking insects with voracious larvae that eat aphids, mealybugs, and other pests. One lacewing larva can consume up to 200 pests a week!

Grow plants such as dill, cosmos, and yarrow to attract the adults whose larvae you want to parasitize. Lots of flowers in the garden will keep them happy and thriving.

Ladybugs: Tiny Pest Control Experts

Ladybugs are aphids, mites, and other garden pest predators, making them your garden’s best friend. Although ladybugs can be tiny, National Geo graphic notes that one ladybug can eat up to 5,000 aphids throughout its lifetime!

Plant dill, fennel, or marigolds, and they’ll be magnetized to your place. Don’t use chemicals because they deter or harm these helpful bugs.

Bumblebees: Big Impact Fuzzy Pollinators

Like honeybees, bumblebees are critical for pollination, but larger, pollinating crops like tomatoes and berries. Plants that rely on vibration to release pollen need their “buzz pollination” technique.

Entice them with wildflowers and native plants and leave some patches of ground bare for nesting. These gentle giants are really a joy to watch buzzing around.

Dragonflies: Mosquito-Eating Machines

Dragonflies are beautiful aerial acrobats and love feasting on mosquitoes and flies. A single dragonfly can munch up potentially hundreds of mosquitoes a day!

However, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, about 16% of dragonfly species are endangered due to habitat loss, water contamination, and changing climate conditions.

A small water feature, such as a pond or a fountain, will attract them to your yard. Your mosquito problem will disappear when you add aquatic plants for their larvae to develop.

Fireflies: Magical Nighttime Visitors

Fireflies, the enchanting insects that light up summer evenings, are also pest feeders, eating snails and slugs. Minimize artificial lighting and plant native grasses and shrubs that will provide them with shelter so you can attract them.

Leave your garden a bit wild, as they need that habitat. Watching the glow of fireflies is amazing, like a magical reward for a firefly-friendly yard.

Praying Mantises: Garden Guardians

A study published in the Journal of Ecology and Conservation highlights that praying mantises are natural pest control that improves sustainable agriculture because they cut down on the use of chemical pesticides.

Praying mantises are fascinating hunters; they attack bad bugs, flies, and grasshoppers. They move very slowly and deliberately, so they are a pleasure to watch in the garden.

Plant shrubs and tall grasses to attract them into habitat, as they provide shelter and hunting grounds. They are a perfect organic pest management system.

Dung Beetles: Nature’s Compost Crew

Though dung beetles may not be glamorous, they help break down animal waste and enrich the soil. A study in the MDPI journal found that they help recycle nutrients and enhance soil structure and fertility.

To support these hardworking recyclers, you must create a diverse, chemical-free garden that welcomes wildlife. If you have pets or livestock, allow them to roam periodically to give these insects some “resources.”

Hoverflies: The Unsung Pollinators

Hoverflies, often mistaken for bees, are excellent pollinators and pest controllers. Adults are nectar and pollen feeders; their larvae eat aphids.

Plants with shallow, open flowers like daisies, alyssum, and marigolds attract them. They are a pollination and pest management win!

Ants: Surprising Soil Aerators

A well-known Canadian scientist, David Suzuki, said, “If all humans disappeared today, the earth would start improving tomorrow. If all the ants disappeared today, the earth would start dying tomorrow.”

So, although ants may be pesky at times, they help aerate the soil and break down organic matter. They tunnel through it, improving the soil’s structure and water infiltration.

In order to keep the ants beneficial, avoid disturbing any of their colonies and provide a healthy ecosystem that has a variety of plants. You will be rewarded with a cleaner garden with healthier soil.

Solitary Bees: Quiet Pollination Specialists

These solitary bees—mason and leafcutter bees—are excellent pollinators. They don’t form colonies like honeybees, but their work as pollinators is just as important.

Give them bee hotels or bundles of hollow bamboo to nest in. Grow native flowers to create a habitat they’ll never want to leave.

Wasps: Misunderstood Helpers

Although wasps have a terrible reputation, they are good at keeping pests at bay – eating caterpillars, flies, and beetles. They also contribute to pollination.

Encourage their presence by planting a variety of flowers, most notably goldenrod and Queen Anne’s lace. Wasps can be a garden ally if you give them space.