Arborpedia
All routes

The unpaid workforce

The predators, parasitoids and soil animals that do pest control and nutrient cycling for nothing, and what keeps them resident.

Growing·Wildlife·Ecology
  1. 01
    A green lacewing on a leaf with a ground beetle on the soil below
    Wildlife№ 0395 min

    Beneficial Predators: The Unpaid Workforce

    Lacewings, ground beetles, parasitoid wasps, spiders and earwigs — what each one hunts, and the habitat that keeps them resident.

  2. 02
    A seven-spot ladybird on a leaf beside its spiny black and orange larva
    Wildlife№ 2575 min

    Ladybirds: The Larvae Do Most of the Work

    A single larva eats hundreds of aphids before pupating — plus overwintering sites, and the introduced harlequin eating the natives.

  3. 03
    A hoverfly feeding on a flat-topped umbellifer flower head
    Wildlife№ 2224 min

    Hoverflies: Pollinator and Pest Controller in One

    How hoverflies deliver both pollination and aphid control in one insect family, and why flat-topped umbellifer flowers pull them in.

  4. 04
    A blue tit carrying a caterpillar to a nest box fixed to an apple tree
    Wildlife№ 2285 min

    Insectivorous Birds: Pest Control With Feathers

    What a family of tits removes from an orchard in a season, why nest boxes work, and the habitat structure that keeps birds hunting your crop.

  5. 05
    A common frog among damp vegetation at the edge of a garden pond
    Wildlife№ 0125 min

    Amphibians and Reptiles: The Pest Control You Never See

    Frogs, toads, newts, lizards and snakes as garden predators — what they need in habitat terms, and why ponds without fish matter most.

  6. 06
    A hedgehog moving through long grass and leaf litter at dusk
    Wildlife№ 2115 min

    Hedgehogs and Small Mammals: The Night Shift

    Hedgehogs, shrews, bank voles and wood mice — what they eat, the fences that trap them, and the slug pellets that kill them twice.

  7. 07
    A small brown bat hanging from the inside of a wooden bat box at dusk
    Wildlife№ 0334 min

    Bats: Night Shift Pollinators and Pest Control

    Why bats are the most underrated garden allies on the planet, eating thousands of insects nightly, pollinating night-flowering crops, and dispersing seeds across kilometres.

  8. 08
    Microscopic view of springtails and mites among soil particles and organic debris
    Wildlife№ 4455 min

    Springtails, Mites and Nematodes: The Soil's Middle Layer

    The invisible majority of soil animals — shredders and grazers that regulate the microbes and release the nutrients plants take up.

  9. 09
    A ladybird larva feeding on aphids on the underside of a broad bean leaf
    Ecology№ 3705 min

    Predator-Prey Balance: Build Habitat, Skip the Sprays

    How to attract ladybirds, lacewings, ground beetles, owls, and snakes so they do the pest control work that pesticides do badly.

  10. 10
    Close-up of bark beetle galleries visible under tree bark
    Growing№ 2294 min

    Tree Pests: Identification, Prevention, and Natural Control

    Identify and manage bark beetles, termites, and root grubs through integrated pest management, healthy soil, and natural predators.

Previous routeThe eastern North American forestNext routePollinators and their larvae