Plants to Attract Beneficial Insects
Answered by: Conrad Richter
Question from: Jeff
Posted on: February 26, 2000

We appreciate you and your organization and the standards that you set! We order from Richters on a regular basis.

In the interest of the environment, we are seeking plants that attract beneficial insects. Especially small wasps and bees. Can you advise us on this issue? We have already bought 1 kg of garlic chives, red bergamot and others.

There is a very nice little book that covers this topic. It is "Good Bugs for Your Garden" by Allison Mia Starcher. It is available from Algonquin Books, PO Box 2225, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27515-2225. It has a chapter on bees and wasps, how these insects are beneficial, what they do, and how to attract them to your garden. For example, for honey bees, Starcher recommends any flower that is rich in nectar and pollen such as white sage. To attract bumble bees, she says passion flower, lavender and butterfly bush (pleurisy root) are magnets. For trichogramma wasps, one of several beneficial wasps, Starcher recommends caraway, fennel, tansy and Queen Anne’s Lace.

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