gardenbetty.com

The Surprising Reasons You Want Moths in Your Garden

Moths tend to get a bad rap as dusty pests that make holes in your sweaters or flap annoyingly against your outdoor lights.

And while there’s a small percentage of moths that are considered invasive or harmful, many more are actually beneficial in the garden.

Here are three good reasons to keep moths around in your garden, plus ways you can attract more of them and make your yard a safe space for them to visit.

Pollination

Their diverse taste in flowers make them a critical backup to bees and other pollinators working the day shift, as they support plant species that bees often ignore.

One study has found that nocturnal moths visit more plant species at night than bees do during the day, including some plants that bees skip completely! (And that’s quite a feat considering the superpollinator status that bees tend to have.)

As a food source

They make a good food source for all sorts of backyard critters, especially those that help control actual garden pests like aphids and earwigs.

For pest control

Sorry, what? Moths as pest control? Yes! It may come as a surprise, but the caterpillars of some moths are actually parasitic. A few feed on other bugs that we tend to consider pests.

One example that’s native to the US is planthopper moths from the genus Epipyropidae. Their caterpillars attach themselves to planthoppers (insects that consume plant sap and can damage crops) and slowly suck their juices.

gardenbetty.com

Swipe up to read the full post!

7 Effortless Ways to Attract Butterflies to Your Garden

A Visual Guide to Identifying Butterflies in Your Garden