Garden Insects

and other invertebrates 

Below are some of the insects and other critters you might find in your garden.  Interested in learning more?  Check out the UMN Insect Webpage

Common Name: Jumping Worm
(Amynthas species)


Insect order: Because of their lack of a jointed exoskeleton, these worms are not considered insects. Garden worms belong to a different group called annelids. 


Good bug, Bad bug: Jumping Worms are an invasive species and are considered a very bad bug. According to the Minnesota DNR "Jumping worms can dramatically change soils, giving it a unique texture similar to coffee grounds. Jumping worms feast on mulch and strip vital nutrients from topsoil. This kills plants and increases erosion. Homeowners may see garden plants killed and may have difficulty growing plants."

Identifying Features: Jumping worms are a type of earthworm. They are called jumping worms because when bothered they mimic a snakes movement and give the impression that they are jumping. A lightly colored ring wraps around the body and may be more bold than other earthworm species. 

Life Cycle (how does it grow?) : These worms produce cocoons in late summer and early fall, The adults die and the cocoon  lives through the winter. The Cocoons hatch in early spring and adults mature in summer. Amynthas are able to survive a variety of conditions including cold winter temperatures. 


Learn More at: 

https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/invasives/terrestrialanimals/jumping-worm/index.html and View This Video (4:55min) to learn how to identify them and how to prevent their spread. From Maryland Extension. 


Common Name: Lady Bug

Insect Order: Coleoptera (Beetle)

Good bug, Bad bug: Lady bugs are a  good sign for a garden and are considered good bugs. They feed on other soft bodied plant eating insects, Including mites. 

Identifying Features: Ladybugs are small and usually quite round in shape. The color on the wing covers (elytra) can be yellow, orange, or red and often has small black dots on it. Some species are solid black. Ladybugs also have black legs, head, and antennae.

Life Cycle (how does it grow?): Ladybugs transform through four stages. This is called metamorphosis, which is when a creature changes completely, moving through the stages of its life cycle. The ladybug life cycle includes these stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult

The Stunning Life Cycle Of A Ladybug, by the Dodo (3:21 min video)


Common Name:  Yellow Garden Spider

Insect Order: Araneae

Good bug, Bad bug: Garden spiders are highly beneficial to gardens because of the role they play in pest control. Garden spiders consume many of the bugs that are found in the garden, even the good ones. 

Identifying Features:Yellow garden spiders have a slightly oval abdomen that displays a  black-and-yellow pattern. The legs can be primarily black or have yellow and black patterning. One of the most distinguishing characteristics is their intricate webs. 

Life Cycle (how does it grow?) The spider life cycle has three stages of development: egg, spiderling and adult. In addition to this In order to grow larger, spiders have to grow a new exoskeleton and shed their old one in a process called molting.

Giant Garden Spider Molting , by Ilovespiderz, This is a very very short clip of an Araneus Bicentenarius molting. (0:08) 


Common Name: Bee

Insect Order: Hymenopterans

Good bug, Bad bug: Bees pollinate  flowers, trees and food crops and are considered one of the most beneficial insects you can find in your garden. They increase biodiversity and assist in keeping the plant life cycle turning. They are extremely good for the environment in a whole. 

Identifying Features: The appearance of a bee can vary based on what kind of bee it is. However most bees have short, thick, hair covered bodies. They have a head, thorax, and abdomen and each segment of the body has a pair of legs. Bees have a long tongue that resembles a straw called a probiscus that enables them to drink the nectar from flowers. Bees also have two wings and two antennae. Bees can be brown, black, yellow or a mix of all 3 colors.

Life Cycle (how does grow?) Bees go through a 4 stage life cycle that consists of egg, larvae, pupa, adult.  It takes 24 days for a drone bee to develop, the process for a queen bee and worker bee is much quicker.

 

Time lapse: Bees hatch before your eyes ( 1:08)

How do honey bees get their jobs? (3:22)

Videos produced by National Geographic 

Common Name: Rhino Beetle

Insect Order: Coleoptera

Good bug, Bad bug: Rhino beetles are neither good or bad for your garden. They dont harm gardens but they dont bring anything  beneficial to it either. The larvae of these beetles do not harm living plants, but they eat decaying plant matter. Thus the larvae of these beetles are great for your garden. 

Identifying Features: Rhino beetles are named for the horns that protrude from the males heads. Most rhino beetles are green, black, or gray and covered in soft hairs. Rhino beetles are also given the name hercules beetles to describe their strength.

Life Cycle (how does it grow?) :The life cycle of a Rhino beetle consists of the egg, 1st instar, 2nd instar, 3rd instar, pupa, and the adult.  This is called metamorphosis. The life cycle of a Rhino beetle can vary heavily based on enviornmental factors and food source. The cycle can last anywhere from 4-9 months. 

The GIANT, Amazing rhinoceros Beetle (1:50)  https://youtu.be/kCxDnlLL8dk

Common Name: Boxelder Bug

           Insect Order:Hempitera

Good bug, Bad bug: Boxelder bugs are not a good bug for your garden. While they wont wreak complete havoc on your plants, they do feed on them. They feed largely on leaves, seedpods and blooms of certain trees. A couple of boxelder bugs in your garden is not cause for concern, but a large number of them in your garden can be something to look out for.  

Identifying Features: Boxelder bugs are black with red or orange markings on their backsides. The Adult boxelder bug has a elogated body that appears flat. They have two antennae that are about half their body length, and they have six legs. 

Life Cycle (how does it grow?): Boxelder bugs have a life cycle that is considered on the simpler side. This cycle consists of 3 stages that include the egg, nymph, and adult. The Nymps have many similarities with the adults. They are smaller and bright red because  they do not yet have the black wings that will cover their abdomens. They have markings where the wings will someday be. 

Interesting video?https://youtu.be/3MPSLjH3kT8



Common Name: Red Milkweed Beetle

Insect Order: Coleoptera

Good bug, Bad bug: Red Milkweed beetles are not considered bad bugs, because they dont cause any real damage to plants. However they are capable of deforming the pods of milkweed plants, and at extreme numbers they can crowd out monarchs. If your goal is not to have a butterfly garden, you generally do not need to worry about these beetles. 

Identifying Features: Red milkweed beetles have reddish-orange bodies with black spots all over their backs. These beetles have antennae positioned close to their eyes, and they have long legs.  

Life Cycle (how does it grow?): Red milkweed beetles live for about a month.The  red milkweed beetles go through 4 stages in their life cycle. Starting with the egg, they develop into larvae, and then they later go into pupas as a step in their metamorphosis process. After emerging from the pupa they are adults. 

Interesting video? :https://youtu.be/AZotxe8SldM

Red milkweed beetles get their bright striking color from ingesting the milkweed plants. This diet is their defense mechanism because it makes the beetle inedible and toxic if eaten by predators.  

Common Name: Monarch Butterfly

Insect Order: Lepidoptera

Good bug, Bad bug: Monarch Butterflies are extremely good insects for a garden due to them being pollinators. 

Identifying Features: Monarch Butterflies have two beautiful sets of wings. Their wings are deep orange with black outlines and veins, white spots run along the edges of them. The other side of their wings are pale orange. Male Monarch butterflies have two black spots in the middle of their hind wings, which females do not. 

Life Cycle (how does it grow?): The Life cycle of a Monarch butterfly consists of 4 stages. The egg, the larvae (caterpillar), pupa (chrysalis), and the adult butterfly. 


Video: How A Caterpillar Becomes A Butterfly | The Dodo  From egg to butterfly with music and helpful text. (1:42min)


Video: How Does a Caterpillar Become a Butterfly? from SciShow Kids Narrated with cartoons and real life. (3:45min)



Common Name: Tiger Swallow Tailed Butterfly

Insect Order: Lepidoptera 

Good bug, Bad bug: The Tiger swallow tailed butterfly is also a pollinator and is considered a great insect for a garden. 

Identifying Features: The Tiger Swallow Tail butterfly is a large butterfly usually ranging from 3.5"-5.5". It gets its name from the black "tiger stripes" on its wings. Female Swallow tails have a hint of blue on their tails, which males lack. 

Life Cycle (how does it grow?) : The Tiger Swallow tailed butterfly, like the Monarch butterfly, goes through a 4 stage life cycle. The egg, the larvae (caterpiller), pupa (chrysalis), and the adult butterfly.


https://youtu.be/LgiyyS9Ktn4 

Common Name: Cabbage Moth

Insect Order: Lepidoptera

Good bug, Bad bug: The Cabbage Moth is considered a pest. However it is not a bad bug in its adult form, it is the Immature larave that will cause damage. The Adult Cabbage moth will lay eggs on the underside of the plant, and the larvae will hatch and eat the leaves or fruit. Which in turn, will harm your garden and/or plants.

Identifying Features: The Adult Cabbage moth is recognized by its white color and blackish, grayish spots along its wings. The head and thorax of this moth is a grey-brown. 

Life Cycle (how does it grow?): This Moths Journey begins as an egg, from there it goes through 5 larval stages, it then transitions into a pupae, until finally it emerges as the Adult Cabbage Moth 

Interesting video  

https://youtu.be/0u6pYSnS6N8

What insect is this? 

3/13/23 -- The University of Minnesota Extension provides information about insects and other garden critters!   Learn about beneficial insects, those that hang out on flowers, and insects you'll find in the lawn and in the garden and orchard.  Use their key to figure out what you're looking at! 

Another reference website is https://bugguide.net

Buzzing with Questions: The Inquisitive Mind of Charles Henry Turner

Can spiders learn? How do ants find their way home? Can bugs see color? All of these questions buzzed endlessly in Charles Henry Turner’s mind. He was fascinated by plants and animals and bugs. Even when he faced racial prejudice, Turner did not stop wondering. He constantly read, researched, and experimented.  

The Bee Man

Find out where honey comes from as Grandpa the Beeman teaches the basics of beekeeping to his young grandson. This rhyming story includes 7 pages of educational endnotes full of essential facts about bees, beekeeping, honey, and the vital part that bees play in the natural world. Ages 4-10

Good Bug, Bad Bug: Who's who, what they do, and how to manage them

Though there is no such thing as good and bad in the bug world, they do impact how we are able to grow our garden crops! Identify by picture and body parts

Lessons and Activities from KidsGardening.org

3/18/22 -- KidsGardening and Little Seeds have created Pollinator Pal Cards that feature one of our insect pals in the garden.  You can read up on them and include opportunity to color them in.  

Pollinator Host Game: use cards for identification or play.  

4/2/23 - Pollinator-Host Game shared by Prairie Moon Nursery. 

Want an easy way to show little ones how native plants are host to a giant pollinator party? Need a great tool for any learning environment? Try this FREE printable card game created by an Ohioan naturalist, Jared Goodykoontz and his 6-year-old. This game is perfect for learning how each and every native plant is beneficial to a specific insect and/or avian. What a fantastic way to show children how important environmental stewardship is!

Download and print the Native Plant Party card game