inserts in the garden

Last Thursday, I had attend an insert workshop held by Student Sustainable Club at Riverside City College's Community Garden and it was presented by University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources.  At the workshop, I learned using inserts to keep the garden healthy by using natural enemies (Predators vs Parasites) like convergent lady beetles vs aphids.  I also learned that scale insects are very harmful to the garden because they will take all the nutrients from the plant and the plant will die slowly.  In order to get rid of scale insects, you will need to introduce wasps into the garden to control the scale insects’ populations.  Another inserts, I learned in the workshop is Syrphid fly will help the plant pollinate and their larvae eat aphids and eat soft-bodied insects.  Before the workshop, I just know that ladybugs eat bad bugs.  Since after the workshop, I had learned a variety of inserts that can benefit and keep your garden healthy by keeping the parasites inserts population low.

Here are some of the photos I took at the workshop:

The collection of insert bought by UC Agriculture and Natural Resource

There is a convergent lady beetles/ ladybug searching for aphids, whiteflies, and other soft-bodied inserts

There are a few Syrphid flies in the garden

A grasshopper is a parasites in a garden, they will eat your crop

There is a whitefly within blue circle I draw in this piece photo at the center and near the top of this photo.

Some common list of Natural Enemies of Garden Pests/Inserts from UC Agriculture and Natural Resources