Faces in the Garden

 

Insects are an integral part of the garden, the good, the bad and the bugly. I learned many years ago, that the best way to keep pests from becoming a major problem in my garden is to strike a balance by including them all. It’s a fascinating miniature world.

Pollinators come in many forms. Many I believe are beautiful when you look at their markings; some are goofy looking in a cartoon character sort-of-way.  Here are a couple I captured digitally.

Two of my favorite images are of this green lacewing, a predator of insects with a voracious appetite. It was found crawling all over a lilium flower. One of the most beautiful insects this side of butterflies, in my opinion and another good reason not to use pesticides. Encourage these beauties to take up residence in your garden.

 

Another predator we all know and love is the ladybug with an appetite for aphids. This angle makes the beetle look like it’s wearing a Darth Vader like helmet and a super hero  red cape.  They are super heroes in the garden.

 

Comments

[livius]

I think that ladybug is the cutest insect I've ever seen in my life. I don't know how got that perfect angle, but it gives him so much personality.

[Debbie TT]

Actually I tried earlier to get a shot and herd it into a position where its spotted back would be at a good angle. It fell down onto the back side of this leaf and then crawled up and peered over at me as if to say, "Bug off and leave me alone." I couldn't have planned a better shot.