Walk into a summer garden in Asheville, and you may think the plants are running the show: tomatoes climbing, coneflowers glowing, sourwoods blooming, and goldenrods waiting for their big fall finale. Look closer, though, and you’ll see the tiny security team on duty. Lady beetle larvae prowling through aphids. Hover fly larvae cleaning up soft-bodied pests. Lacewing eggs dangling like tiny ornaments. Ground beetles patrolling the mulch after dark. These beneficial predatory insects are some of the hardest-working helpers in Western North Carolina landscapes.
In fact, the vast majority of bugs and other arthropods in our landscapes are beneficial. They eat pests, pollinate flowers, and feed birds, so learning who is helping is one of the best things a gardener can do.
Meet the “Good Bugs” of WNC
In Asheville and the surrounding Blue Ridge region, common beneficial predators include ground beetles, ladybird beetles, lacewings, wheel bugs, hover flies, and predatory mites, according to Buncombe County Extension Master Gardeners. These insects help manage pests naturally, which is especially useful in flower borders, vegetable gardens, fruit plantings, and mixed landscapes.
1. Lady Beetles
Lady beetles, often called ladybugs, are the familiar red-and-black favorites, but their larvae (pictured above) look more like tiny alligators than garden mascots. Do not squish them! Both adults and larvae feed on aphids, scale insects, whiteflies, mites, and other small pests.
2. Green Lacewings
3. Hover Flies
4. Ground Beetles
5. Wheel Bugs (Assassin Bugs)
Wheel bugs, members of the assassin bug family, look a little prehistoric, and they are not picky eaters. They attack caterpillars, beetles, aphids, and other insects. They are excellent predators, but don’t handle them; wheel bugs can deliver a painful bite if grabbed.
6. Parasitic Wasps & Tachinid Flies
What They Do for Your Plants
Beneficial predators don’t make pests disappear forever, but they do help keep pest populations from exploding. That matters in WNC, where mild springs, humid summers, and lush plant growth can create aphid parties almost overnight.
In flower gardens, predators help protect new growth on roses, bee balm, asters, phlox, and milkweed. Aphids on butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) may look alarming, but if lady beetle larvae, hover fly larvae, or lacewings are present (lacewing larvae pictured above), the best move is often patience.
In vegetable gardens, these predators help with aphids on brassicas, whiteflies on tomatoes, mites on beans, and caterpillar eggs on many crops. A row of dill, cilantro, basil, sweet alyssum, calendula, or zinnias near vegetables can bring in nectar-feeding adults, whose young may become the pest patrol.
And in larger landscapes, beneficial insects help keep ornamental trees and shrubs healthier. Native trees such as red maple (Acer rubrum), serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea), eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis), sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum), black cherry (Prunus serotina), basswood (Tilia americana), and oaks (Quercus spp.) support complex food webs. The Asheville Botanical Garden notes that native plants help sustain native butterflies, moths, beneficial insects, birds, and other wildlife.
The Secret: Feed the Adults, Shelter the Young
A garden that attracts beneficial predators isn’t just a garden with fewer pesticides. It’s a garden with food, shelter, and seasonal bloom.
NC State Extension recommends creating an environment that supports naturally occurring predators and parasitoids rather than relying on purchased insects. They also note that purchased lady beetles and praying mantises are often not very effective for home gardeners, because lady beetles are highly mobile, and mantises are nonselective predators. In other words, don’t buy a box of “good bugs” and expect them to stay for dinner! Build the restaurant, the nursery, and the winter cabin, and local beneficials will find you.
Start with flowers that offer small, accessible blooms. Many tiny beneficial wasps and hover flies can’t reach nectar in deep tubular flowers, so they love flat-topped or clustered blooms.
Great WNC-friendly choices include:
- Mountain mint (Pycnanthemum spp.)
- Goldenrod (Solidago spp.)
- Asters (Symphyotrichum spp.)
- Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum)
- Golden alexander (Zizia aurea)
- Blue vervain (Verbena hastata)
- Culver’s root (Veronicastrum virginicum)
- Wild indigo (Baptisia spp.)
NC Cooperative Extension’s pollinator plant lists include many of these as native plant choices for North Carolina bee forage.
For shrubs and small trees, think in layers…
- Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) is wonderful for damp spots.
- Summersweet (Clethra alnifolia) brings fragrant summer bloom.
- New Jersey tea (Ceanothus americanus) is a compact native shrub with pollinator appeal.
- Blueberries (Vaccinium spp.), viburnums (Viburnum spp.), sumacs (Rhus spp.), and native azaleas (Rhododendron spp.) add flowers, fruit, cover, and seasonal interest.
If you plant only one “bug magnet,” make it mountain mint. (Pictured above.) Hoary mountain mint (Pycnanthemum incanum) is native to the eastern United States, grows well in full sun to part shade, provides nectar for pollinators, and attracts butterflies and many other insects. It can spread, so give it room or place it where a naturalized look is welcome. NC Cooperative Extension also reports that mountain mints can attract an impressive diversity of insects, with clustered mountain mint (Pycnanthemum muticum) standing out in summer gardens.
What to Be Aware Of
The first rule of gardening with predators is this: you need some pests. That may sound strange, but beneficial insects need prey. If every aphid is blasted away at first sight, the lady beetles and hover flies have no reason to stay.
Be careful with broad-spectrum insecticides, even organic ones.
Products that kill pests can also kill lacewing larvae, lady beetles, bees, tiny parasitoid wasps, and other helpers. If intervention is needed, identify the pest first, choose the least-disruptive method, and apply carefully. Often, a strong spray of water, hand-picking, pruning out a small infestation, or waiting a few days is enough.
Learn the baby pictures.
Lady beetle larvae, lacewing larvae, and hover fly larvae (pictured above) do not look like their adult forms. Many gardeners accidentally remove the exact insects they were hoping to attract. Before you squish, take a photo and identify.
Watch sticky traps.
Yellow sticky cards can help monitor pests, but they also catch beneficial insects. Use them sparingly in vegetable gardens and greenhouses, not as permanent decorations throughout the landscape.
Give wasps a second chance.
Many tiny wasps in the garden are not interested in you. They are interested in nectar and pest insects. Social wasps near doorways or patios may need attention, but solitary and parasitic wasps are valuable garden residents.
How to Roll Out the Welcome Mat
Plant for bloom from spring through fall. In spring, serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea), eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis), flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), golden alexander (Zizia aurea), and wild indigo (Baptisia spp.) help start the season.
In summer, mountain mint (Pycnanthemum spp.), bee balm (Monarda spp.), purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), blazing star (Liatris spp.), garden phlox (Phlox paniculata), and buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) keep the buffet open.
In fall, goldenrod (Solidago spp.), asters (Symphyotrichum spp.), ironweed (Vernonia noveboracensis), and Joe-Pye weed (Eutrochium spp.) help beneficial insects finish the season strong.
Leave some stems and leaves.
Planting flowers is just the first step, because garden maintenance affects nesting and overwintering habitat. In North Carolina, many native bees nest in the ground, while others nest in stems and wood, and other arthropods also use hollow stems for overwintering. Predatory insects benefit from the same less-than-perfect approach. Leave leaf litter under shrubs, keep a few hollow stems standing through winter, and tuck small brush piles in out-of-the-way corners.
Mix natives with herbs and annuals.
Native plants give the strongest ecological foundation, especially in the Blue Ridge region, but herbs and annual flowers can extend bloom in edible gardens. Dill, fennel, cilantro, parsley, basil, thyme, oregano, sweet alyssum, cosmos, sunflowers (Helianthus annuus), and zinnias are excellent companions around vegetables. Let a few herbs flower, and you may see hover flies, tiny wasps, lacewings, and bees arrive.
Most of all, garden like you’re hosting a tiny wildlife festival.
Offer flowers, water, shelter, and patience. Asheville and WNC gardens already sit in one of the most biologically rich regions in the East. With the right plants and a lighter touch, your landscape can become a lively, beautiful place where beneficial predators do what they do best: keep the garden buzzing, balanced, and wonderfully alive.
