Gardener's friends - amigos de la agricultora's Boletim

Lots of gardener friends I've found on this article today:

http://serida.org/publicacionesdetalle.php?id=4811 (in Spanish)

I was looking for animals that eat aphids, as last Spring I had more aphids on my garden that I would like.

A big family of friends is the Syrphidae, their larvae eats aphids and the adults eat polen.

This article talked about the importance of having flowers and hedges on our garden, as they host aphid predators all year round, ready to act when the aphids appear. If we only provide them with aphids, they will take more time to find them, and will live elsewhere. A diversity of habitats will help the benefitial fauna stay all year round, ready for defense.

Today I have added insects for biocontrol that are available commercially.

I took them from this page: https://controlbio.es/es/222-insectos-depredadores

There are insects that eat thrips, aphids, fruit fly, and many other pests.

Today I bring to your attention a fly that you may have seen rummaging on your flowers: Stomorhina lunata.

This fly is different than a house fly because it has a longitudinally striped torso, and the abdomen has yellow stripes like the bees.

Is an important egg predator for grasshoppers, and only asks some polen in exchange. Which looks like a fair deal to me!

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/326655

Today I introduce you to a friend I am lucky to have in my garden: Mylabris quadripunctata
We call them 'escarabajo de 4 puntos', or "4 pointed beetle".
This beetle's diet consists mainly of polen when adult, but when in larval state likes to eat eggs and larvae of grasshoppers, those bulimic enemies!
So, I hope you have some of these in your garden too!

This year the grasshoppers are just too many, especially in Asia where they are leading to famine.

i have added different animals that protect fruit trees, thanks to this article talking about a very useful plant to keep around the garden (even if controlled):
https://web.archive.org/web/20150102072301/http://www.plantarteentuoasis.com:80/2013/12/olivarda-mosquera-pulguera-dittrichia-inula-viscosa-usos-propiedades-medicinal-asociacion-cultivos-insecticida.html

This plant attracts many beneficial insects to the garden, giving them protection during the winter so they are ready to attack the fruit fly and the red mites in the spring.

Added: Nesidiocoris tenuis, género Dicyphus, Macrolophus caliginosus, Eupelmus urozonus.

Me gustaría poder resaltar la importancia que los animales y plantas silvestres tienen para nuestra propia alimentación, y promover una agricultura más respetuosa con el medio ambiente.
Por mi zona la gente tiende a matar cualquier cosa que no se pueda comprar en el supermercado, y al hacerlo en realidad perjudica su propio huerto.

Muchos insectos no comen plantas, o quizás un poquito de polen, y a cambio nos ayudan a combatir pulgones o repeler otras plagas, como los Escarabajos de cuatro patas https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/346032-Mylabris-quadripunctata que además comen huevos y larvas de saltamontes, o las últimamente redimidas mariquitas, que se comen los pulgones cuando adultas y sobre todo cuando larvas.

Además de estas dos especies, inicio el proyecto con otros clásicos amigos del jardinero o jardinera: las lombrices de tierra, que con su digestión vuelven muchos elementos disponibles para las plantas y mejoran la microbiología del suelo, y los clásicos predadores: las mantis religiosas, carnívoras que se alimentan de todo tipo de insectos, los escarabajos de tierra, y algunas familias de pájaros insectívoros.

No dudéis en proponer nuevas especies, y espero que este proyecto sea de utilidad a las personas que se inician en la agricultura sostenible, una acción muy importante para nuestro futuro!