There are plants, like fennel and coreopsis, that attract beneficial insects.

Here is a link that might be useful: Insectary Plants

well that is pretty neat! i actually grow a number of those listed items anyway....but i still have aphis and don't seem to have ladybugs devouring them. i have never been keen on importing the ladybugs, figuring they would just fly away. but i would try it if they could be obtained locally.

Most of the larger garden centers around Raleigh carry them but keep in mind that most (if not all) the farmed ladybugs you can buy are not the native beetle. They are the asian species. They still eat aphids but they congregate in the fall and winter in large numbers and they can bite. Its nothing serious but it sure gets old when you are trying to remove them from inside your house after leaving a bedroom window open.

It is real easy for people to scream and yell about invasive species when it comes to weeds or dangerous animals but no one wants to complain about insects. Wonder why? Many of the praying mantis', earthworms, bees/wasps/hornets and ladybugs we see in our gardens are foreigners.

John, John, John, we just haven't gotten around to whining about invasive exotic insects yet. Ladybug larvae, which look like alligators are great aphisd eaters. I find that I have more beneficials and fewer nasties just by abstaining from the sevin unless I have a real problem and using just enough, where it's needed. No Japanese beetles at all this year so far - knock on wood. Debbie Roos has a neat gallery of beneficials....

Here is a link that might be useful: Insect Gallery with Lady Beetles

Great info everyone. I must be doing something good this year. I have never seen so many small ladybugs and larva. I haven't seen more then a couple bad bugs this year and they have been taught to swim in the pond. It seems the mass bug infestations that i had in the garden for the first few years may be a thing of the past. I saw a praying mantis in the garden yesterday, and he/she was a fat little bugger. Maybe it can find a mate and stick arround for a while

http://www.tcs-hydroponics.com/doc/bugs.htm#ladybugs

I just ordered 4500 bugs from these folks. Somebody make me feel better and tell me they are not the Asian variety :(

They had a write up in the paper one fall when the ladybugs were swarming explaining the whole asian/native thing. I believe they said that you cannot tell the difference by looking at them - they look identical. I also believe they said there was some reason the asian species were easier to raise in controled circustances (we don't want people harvesting them out of the wild!). I'm pretty sure they stated that ALL the commercially available ladybugs/ladybird beetles were not the native US variety. You'll know in the fall when the temps cool down and the beetles swarm the walls of your house looking for a cozy spot to spend the winter.

reeldoc, the link you supplied described the Convergent Ladybug, a native species. You will certainly be able to tell once you begin seeing the larvae (if the adults stick around) as they look very different from the Asian ladybeetle.

BTW, our native species will be happy to congregate inside our homes, too!

As far as praying mantids go, any that I find in my yard are escorted elsewhere, lol!

The only benificial I have purchased are parasitic wasp for Mexican bean beetle control.I have included a link to a great company that sells this miracle wasp. It is 100% effective in the control of the MBB. I have bought other lure and pheronomes to trap and kill bugs.For cucumber beetles you can make yellow sticky traps by using those plastic corrogated signs. Spray paint them bright yellow and cut them into 6in squares then coat with sticky glue. The cucumber beetle is attracted to the color yellow which is the color of all cucubits blooms. Then take a 1in square piece of felt and apply to the center of the sticky board. Then apply several drops of clove oil. The clove oil contains eugenol which is the same chemical emmited by all cucubit families. This pheronome attracts the cucumber beetles. I have them fly onto my hands when I walk in the garden after messing with the clove oil. It drives them crazy. They will then be attracted to the sticky pad and get stuck. This method is used by commercial growers to monitor cucumber beetle populations and when the population exceeds a certain number then it is economical to spray the fields. On a home garden scale and several of these sticky traps cucmber beetles can be almost eliminated. Cucumber beetles spread the dreaded wilt virus in squash and melons. They also destroy young plants and reduce crop yield.I have also used large yellow plastic cups. coated the inside with sticky glue attached to posts cages fences etc. in a way that rain does not get in, then place the felt in the bottom saturated with clove oil and as an extra means add a couple of drops of liquid seven to the felt. This will kill the beetles that would other wise escape. It is still organic since the sevin was not applied to the crop or ground. I got this ideal from peaceful valley farms. They sell little sponges saturated with eugenol and seven for cucumber beetle control. There are numerous University tested and industry approved methods to control pest without harming the enviroment or ourselves. And most are cheaper than chemicals. by the way if you have small children making sticky pads and cups would be a fun project. Too bad mine are grown now I get all the fun. Rodger

Here is a link that might be useful: biological controls

Lady bugs never showed up. Were supposed to have been sent on 6/27. The company said that they have no way to determine what happened since I didn't get delivery confirmation. I've never had problems with the mail or packages making it to the house, especially Priority mail. Something is real fishy about this deal. Live and learn.