Consider our forests and farms. Our rivers and lakes. And yes, our homes and workplaces. Wherever we live, work or play — when we care for our surroundings, we’re celebrating Earth Day.
Belong to a community garden? Got a garden by the house? You can welcome Earth Day by welcoming the critters that make any garden a healthy garden.
The IPM connection? It could be
- the bugs that eat other bugs — bugs you don’t want
- the core IPM practices you use to prevent problems
- the pollinators that ensure you have fruits and veggies for dinner
This critter looks a little freaky. But hey, it’s on your side. It just found a nice patch of aphids and as a growing larva, it’s got the munchies.
Let’s take a look at number 1 — and the critter in the photo. Creepy, no? But it’s a ladybug larva. Who knew? Now take a look at all those green critters. Aphids. Aphids are bad news for your gardens or crops.
During its short lifespan as a larva, this ladybug-in-waiting will eat about 400 aphids. Once it’s become an adult, it’ll eat about 5,000 more.
Which leads us to core IPM practices and number 2. Provide good habitat for predators like ladybugs and you’ll have healthier plants. Which in turns leads to number 3: pollinators. Because if you don’t have healthy plants, you won’t have healthy flowers — and the fewer flowers, the fewer pollinators.
The cycle of life. Every day is Earth Day.