My children teach me a lot: How to look at trees, how to properly eat cake, and how things in life aren’t always black and white. Take a “good guy/bad guy.” This is a term our five-year-old coined when dealing with some less than clear cut fictional characters. For example: Godzilla. Sure he stomps Tokyo into a pile of rubble in some episodes, but in others he defends humankind from invading other monsters (even doing a little jig in delight once and a while). So he’s classified as a “good guy/bad guy.”

Blister Beetles: Good or Bad?

As I was trying to figure out what beetle could possibly move from alfalfa fields to home gardens, I read something about blister beetles that make me realize the same applies for many of our garden insects.

There are “good guy/bad guys” in the bug world. Frankly, I saw no redeeming qualities for blister beetles. I had them on my Swiss chard one year, and I was horrified how quickly they devoured the foliage. (I sucked them off with the Shop-Vac). It turns out the blister beetle larvae eat grasshopper eggs. How wonderful is that? Since the bane of my summer is usually grasshoppers, I’m thrilled with any insect that munches on them in any form.

Earwigs: Good or Bad?

Another that many people abhor are earwigs. They do damage crops even though I’ve had a lot of people tell me otherwise. I have a difficult time growing corn if I don’t keep on top of it with diatomaceous earth, so earwigs keep me on my pest control game. (One university site I read suggested if the earwigs are out of control, the garden is in need of more birds, frogs and toads. I can’t argue with that so it inspires me even more to make our place a wildlife friendly garden.)

But, in reality, earwigs concentrate on what’s easiest for them to consume. They eat a lot of dead things – decaying plants and dead insects – in the garden. Plus, the will eat mites and aphids helping to keep their numbers in check. Even with their evil looking pincers, they’re not all bad.

Ants: Good or Bad?

During some years I’ve had people ask me if ants are any good at all. Actually, they are. While they can be terribly annoying, particularly when they’re in your home, and destruction to some garden plants and trees, you have to admit they do a good job of making even hard packed soil nicer. They are mining experts. And a study by UC Davis discovered that the native (to California) gray ant actually searches out the high protein larva of the peach tree borer, which causes a lot of damage to orchards. That’s good reason not to reach for ant killer at the first sign of one.

Leaf Cutter Bees: Good or Bad?

On the flip side, we also have to realize that the ones many of us love to have in our gardens are not beneficial to everyone. I remember dusting roses to deter the leaf cutter bees; now I order them through the mail and have a house for them to pollinate our garden. I don’t care if my plants have a few circular cuts in them because I know more about who is doing it.

Caterpillars: Good or Bad?

We also have to remember that caterpillars will eventually turn into butterflies or moths, which can be a boon to the garden, so it’s important to be patient with those insects who are “good guys/bad guys,” because it’s rarely ever absolute.