6. Good Organic Gardening - November-December 2016 AvxHome.in

PEST PATROL | Beneficial insects
We can’t live without bees
MORE HAPPY HELPERS
There are so many great little critters in our gardens
that we needed a part two of our good bugs round-up
Words Claire Bickle
Insects are some of the most abundant
creatures on Earth and they all play an
important role within our ecosystems.
Organic gardeners and farmers are able
to put aside an aversion to insects that we all
seem to have, probably because of the few
bothersome or aggressive ones, and understand
that in nature, there is always a balance.
Organic gardening techniques, whereby
the use of synthetic chemicals is eschewed
and soil and plant health are maintained
by the addition of organic matter, will see
balance created and, hopefully, very few severe
unmanageable pest and disease outbreaks.
In our last issue, we looked at beneficial
bugs that wage war on some of the baddies
whose populations can get out of hand from
time to time. Here, we profile a few more of
the amazing and vital insects that create
balance and important biodiversity in our
backyards and our environment in general.
Their roles can be as predators, pollinators
and more.
Bees; Order:
Hemiptera
I don’t think I have to tell you about
the benefits of bees but I will anyway.
These magical insects have captured the
imagination of the human race since the
dawn of time and there are some tens of
thousands of species worldwide.
Bees are regarded as very important
pollinators of so many plant species and
without their perpetual efforts, we would
be a rather hungry human race and there
would be limited plant diversity.
The most recognised bee in Australia is the
European honeybee, introduced more than
150 years ago. But did you know that these
imported bee species are becoming feral,
competing with our native bees for habitat
and nectar sources?
In Australia, we have dozens of species of
native bees. Some are solitary and some are
colony forming, but they all play an important
role in pollinating a wide and varied range of
plant species.
Common native bee species
Sugarbag or stingless: It’s becoming quite
common for people to have hives for these
tiny little black bees in backyards.
58 | Good Organic Gardening