How to Attract Beneficial Insects in Tucson

If you're a Tucson gardener embracing organic methods, beneficial insects are one of your most important garden allies!

There are so many helpful insects in Tucson that will pollinate your garden, eat pests, help decompose your compost, and more.

Ready to learn about cultivating a harmonious garden ecosystem that's well-balanced? You're in the right place - keep reading.

Garden predators can help keep your garden healthy, controlled, and thriving!

Let's talk about how to attract beneficial insects to your Tucson garden...

Why Beneficial Insects Are Important in the Garden

One lens through which we can look at beneficials is through the roles they play and ecological niches they fill.

Broadly, these break down into categories such as:

• Predators
• Pollinators
• Decomposers

Let's talk about each one, and I'll give you some great local examples of each in Tucson.

Tucson Garden Predatory Insects

Predatory insects are a great garden ally as they often eat the bugs that we consider pests.

Beneficial predators are a natural counter-balance to pest populations, and keep them in check so they don't get out of hand. While organic gardens will always have something eating your plants, a healthy garden ecosystem will contain enough predatory insects to prevent pests from doing too much damage.

As a well-known example: ladybugs eat aphids (among other things). Because aphids feed on plants, they can cause significant damage if their populations aren't controlled. This makes ladybugs a natural ally predator whose presence you can welcome in your garden.

Some other common predatory insects you'll see in Tucson include lacewings, mantids, ground beetles, hoverflies, and minute parasitoid wasps.

We're just scratching the surface here, but these predators are critically important in helping to control garden pest populations.

If you can ally with predatory insects and entice them into your garden with food, water, shelter, and the right conditions - your garden will thank you!

Predators represent a natural and holistic solution that's far more effective and targeted than nasty synthetic pesticides. It's worth learning about all of the local predatory insects in Tucson and how to attract them to your garden if pests are an issue for you.

Tucson Garden Insect Pollinators

Did you know that moths are the #1 pollinator in the desert Southwest? It's true!

Why, then, are you killing and removing caterpillars from your garden which would have grown up to pollinate your plants? This is all too common with gardeners and shows a failure to fully think through the long-term consequences of actions.

Insect Decomposers in Tucson

Black soldier fly larvae are definitely my favorite decomposing insect in Tucson. They are abundant during the warm season, and will show up on their own if you have moist compost.

Any damp, decaying organic matter pile will entice black soldier flies to lay their eggs during the hotter half of the year. Soon, black soldier fly larvae will be championing your compost and breaking down scraps faster than you though possible! Some say up to 7x faster than worms.

Truly an invaluable beneficial that's worth attracting if you're a Tucson gardener. Your compost pile will thank you!

Native Plants to Attract Beneficial Insects

The best way to attract beneficial insects in Tucson is to plant native!

Native plants, especially flowering plants, are the food and shelter sources which local beneficial insects have evolved alongside for eons.

Native plants are also adapted to the local climate, the extremely alkaline soil, the low organic matter content, the inconsistent rainfall and the extreme sun exposure in Tucson. They are much more hearty and resilient in this climate than most plants, requiring little care and no supplemental watering. That means not only will they attract and harbor native beneficial insects, but they'll do it without needing much of your time, attention, or resources.

Native plants will attract beneficial bugs which are equally well-adapted for the harshness of this environment.

Often, the local beneficials will share symbiotic relationships with native plant species and have evolved to be inter-dependent.

Let's look at some specific examples of native Tucson plants which attract beneficial insects:

Milkweed

Milkweed leaves are the sole source of food for monarch caterpillars.

Adult monarchs also drink nectar from milkweed flowers, making it a critical plant species for supporting these fascinating pollinators!

Along with monarchs, milkweed will also attract a variety of other beneficial critters, such as ladybugs, lacewings, and hoverflies. Are you growing milkweed in your garden or landscaping yet?

Arizona has a few dozen native milkweed species, so you're bound to find one that works well for your space. Here are a few, but I encourage you to do your research for a full list before choosing a species:

• Asclepias angustifolia - Arizona milkweed
• Asclepias subulata - Desert milkweed
• Asclepias asperula - Antelope horns milkweed
• Asclepias linaria - Pineneedle milkweed
• Asclepias erosa - Giant sand milkweed
• Asclepias albicans - White stem milkweed

Desert Marigold

Baileya multiradiata - Desert marigold is a hardy perennial that's native to Tucson. Not only does it look great, but it's an incredible attractor for all manner of beneficial insect friends.

The list includes bees, butterflies, and ladybugs among others.

Arizona Sage

Salvia arizonica - Arizona Sage, aka Desert Indigo Sage is a drought-tolerant plant that attracts a wide variety of beneficial insects.

Notably, AZ Sage is known for attracting large numbers of native bees. This makes Salvia arizonica a great species to attract beneficial pollinators in Tucson.

Other Ways to Attract Beneficial Insects

In addition to planting native plants, there are a few other things you can do to attract beneficial insects to your Tucson garden, yard, or farm.

Here are a few ideas:

Provide Water for Garden Beneficials

Like all life on Earth, beneficial insects need water to survive!

While some insects get their water entirely from their diet, many will benefit from a shallow dish of water in your garden or yard.

Add some rocks in your water dish which stick up above the surface. This not only gives insects something to safely climb on and prevent them from falling in, it also keeps your water dish from blowing away when its empty.

Hedgerows & Shrubs Are Great for Beneficials

Bushes, hedgerows, and shrubs are often overlooked in gardens and on farms, but these provide critical resources to beneficial insects as well as predatory animals.

Housing, food, and shelter are all provided by the dense foliage. This gives beneficials a safe and relaxing place to retreat to at night, away from pests.

Eating all your pests is a tough job, and beneficial insects love to have a place to hang out and recuperate after all their hard work. Hedgerows and bushes do a great job of providing this.

Let's not forget about all the birds, owls, and other helpful critters who may also take up residence in your bushes.

Not to mention the benefit as windbreak, you can see why you shouldn't neglect hedges in your organic garden or farm plan.

Provide Shelter to Encourage Beneficial Predators

Along with hedges and shrubs mentioned above, you can also create your own shelters by building insect hotels. These are structures made of natural materials like sticks, bark, and pine cones that provide a safe place for insects to hide.

Propping a slab of slate across a few bricks can provide a safe nook for snakes, which will help with your rodent populations.

Avoid Pesticides When Relying on Beneficials

Chemical pesticides have a great way of poisoning entire ecosystems. Remember, you can't balance an ecosystem by killing it!

Our goal as regenerative gardeners practicing permaculture and building soil is to nurture and shepherd the ecosystem, helping it to maintain a delicate balance.

It's not to demonize it and wipe it out. That's what chemical gardeners do, but I encourage you to hold yourself to a higher standard than that.

Last Thoughts...

Attracting beneficial insects to your Tucson garden is a great way to eliminate any need for harmful pesticides and keep your garden healthy and thriving in a smarter way.

If you can attract beneficial insects to your Tucson garden, you'll have an incredible team of allies who all target pests far better than broad-spectrum synthetic pesticides ever could.

So drop the toxic bottles and embrace the ecosystem! Learn about beneficials and the role they play in striking a careful ecosystem balance.

Plant native plants, provide water and shelter, and avoid pesticides to create a welcoming habitat for these important beneficial insects and predators.

Have any tips for attracting beneficial insects in Tucson? You already know we'd love to hear what's worked for you in the comment section below.

Wishing you a happy and productive gardening season!