35+ Plants that Attract Beneficial Insects

Have you ever wanted to attract more lacewings, bees, or dragonflies to your garden?

The good news is you can do that easily. Just add plants that attract beneficial insects.

Including some of the plants listed below in your yard will help invite helpful insects to visit.

Plants for Beneficial Insects

Some of the best plants for attracting these insects are:

Herbs like rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil, and lavender are beneficial. Their fragrant blossoms will draw in pollinators and predatory insects. Planting a few of these aromatic herbs together helps create an environment that is helpful to insects like bees.

Native flowering plants are also ideal. These include coneflowers, sunflowers, asters, goldenrods, and milkweeds. Their familiar blooms attract many local beneficial insects.

Therefore, plant a diverse selection of native plants. They will provide vital habitats and food for insects at all life stages.

Moreover, the umbrella plant has dense foliage and tiny white, pink, or red flowers. It provides shelter and food for beneficial insects, such as bees [1]. Its broad, umbrella-shaped leaves also make a perfect landing pad.

There are also vegetables, such as carrots, tomatoes, and broccoli, that require pollination to produce fruit or seeds. Their blossoms also attract beneficial insects to your garden.

Plants for Lacewings

Lacewings feed on common garden pests like aphids, mealybugs, spider mites, and thrips.

Plants that produce small, clustered flowers will attract lacewings to your garden.

Some of these plants include yarrow, fennel, Queen Anne’s lace, dill, and sunflowers.

Plants for Ladybugs

Ladybugs are also known as lady beetles or ladybird beetles.

They are beneficial garden insects. They eat common pests, like aphids, spider mites, and scale insects.

To attract ladybugs to your garden, plant flowers that they find appealing.

The best plants for attracting ladybugs include buckwheat, fennel, and common yarrow. They are also fond of marigolds, cosmos, and coriander.

Plants for Dragonflies

If you want to attract dragonflies to your garden, plant some of their favorite flowers.

They are attracted to pretty plants like bearded iris, water lilies, and coneflowers. They will also flock to Joe-Pye weed, yarrow, and swamp milkweed.

Plant several of these flowers together in your surroundings. This will help create an inviting habitat for dragonflies.

Plants for Bees and Butterflies

Bright flowers and fragrant blooms attract bees and butterflies to your garden.

The best options include helenium, yarrow, dandelion, and perennial asters. Black-eyed Susan, sage, verbena, and cardinal flowers are also great options.

Provide a variety of plants that bloom from spring to fall. This will give beneficial insects a continuous food source in your yard.

Cardinal flowers will also attract hummingbirds.

Plants for Wasps

Wasps are often seen as pests. But many species are beneficial.

They prey on common garden pests. Plants that attract wasps will welcome these natural predators into your garden.

Queen Anne’s lace, sunflowers, sedum, goldenrod, and fennel are some of the best plants to attract wasps.

Plants for Praying Mantises

Praying mantises are beneficial insects that you may encounter in your garden. They prey on grasshoppers, moths, and other insect pests.

Some of the best plants to attract praying mantises are dill, rose bushes, fennel, angelica, and alfalfa.

There are also other clever ways to attract these helpful predators. You can plant flowers and herbs that bring in their favorite foods—other insects!

Plants for Soldier Beetles

Soldier beetles are also known as leatherwings. They are beneficial in the garden, as they feed on pests such as aphids, mites, and caterpillars.

Plant flowers that attract these helpful allies to your garden. Some of those plants include poppies, hydrangeas, marigolds, coreopsis, and wild lettuce.

Plants for Hoverflies

Hoverflies (syrphid flies) are also excellent pollinators to have in your garden. Moreover, their larvae feed on aphids and other plant pests.

To attract hoverflies, plant flowers that they favor. These include wild carrot, wild mustard, fennel, ivy, asters, and calendula.

In addition to planting hoverfly-friendly flowers, avoid using pesticides in your garden. Pesticides can kill larvae, adult hoverflies, and pests if not used cautiously.

You can also provide a water source, such as a birdbath with stones for the hoverflies to land on. This will make your garden more inviting to these helpful pollinators.

Takeaway

So there you have it: a few plants you can add to your garden or yard to help attract the good bugs and insects.

Set up a habitat and provide food for beneficial insects such as ladybugs, lacewings, and hoverflies. By doing so, you can have natural pest control working for you when necessary.