Although on the outside your garden and flower beds might look healthy and gorgeous, there could be insect predators lurking in the shadows. This is a list of some of the more common insects that invade your garden and the damage they can cause.

aphids

These tiny intruders can be less than 1/8in. long. They're usually triangular shaped in green or black in color. All aphids have a sort of tailpipe tube on their rear ends that secrete a sticky substance, resulting from them sucking the sap and juices from new plant growth. This causes the plant to lose vigor and wilt and many times spotting on the plants can occur. The plants ability to properly processed food is damaged.

Ants and aphids are friends and commonly seen hanging out on the same plants. The ants feed on this sticky liquid and in turn help protect the aphids from predators. Oftentimes they house their eggs in the ant colony over the winter and return them to the plants in the spring. You might want to set out ant traps to rid your garden of both of these insects.

Army cut Worms

These are the most destructive variety of cut Worms. In the spring they begin at less than a quarter inch long crawling across your lawn and thriving in the debris left from the previous year's garden. They prefer to munch on broadleaf plants.

Nocturnal in nature they do the most severe damage at night, cutting plants down at the base of the stems. Putting collars made of plastic , aluminum foil and cardboard around the base of young plants prevents these insects from destroying them.

In April or May, after a feeding frenzy, they begin the next stage of their transformation into moths. These Miller moths as they're called, take a break during the summer and head for cooler temperatures amongst the tree leaves. There they feed mostly on sap and conserve their energy.

In August and September they head back down to the gardens to lay their eggs. They prefer laying them in heavily weedy areas. A properly weeded garden can deter cut Worms from taking up residence.

cabbage moths

The fuzzy green caterpillars love to munch in your vegetable garden. Their favorite foods are cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli. The adults are white moths with an occasional black spot on the wings. They can damage the appearance of these vegetables by chewing holes in their leaves.

earwigs

These are elongated flat insects anywhere from 1/2 to 1 1/4in. in length. They're usually black in color. There is a forceps like pincher located at the base of their abdomen. Although relatively harmless to humans, they can be destructive night time garden pests. They can feed on the roots and leaves of shrubs, vegetables and flowers. Earwigs love feeding on marigolds, roses, lettuce and strawberries . They are most commonly seen in the summer.

flea beetles

These tiny black garden bugs are good at jumping from leaf to leaf where they proceed to chew tiny holes in them. It is best to rid your garden of them early in the year because they are most damaging to younger plants and seedlings.

spider mites

These extremely tiny insects can be destructive to sweet corn and beans as well as trees and shrubbery. Their size is about the same as that of a period on a newspaper print page. They are reddish to orange in color and thrive by sucking out the plant juices causing a loss of chlorophyll. They live on the undersides of plant leaves and can create a fine silky webbing. These tiny insects cause spotting on plant leaves that if left untreated can harm the plant.

squash bugs

These beetle shaped bugs hang around squash and pumpkin plants damaging the plants first, and then boring holes into the fruit. Some of them have stripes. They can be controlled by using pesticides early in the year. They prefer to lounge around the bases of the plants.

Thrips

These insects are so tiny you probably won't notice you have them until the plants are already damaged. Their shiny black excrement is a telltale sign of invasion. They live in the tightly closed parts of the plants such as buds and leaf whorls. Because they suck the juices from the plants, the plants cannot mature properly. plant growth may be stunted, leaves deformed and even premature leaf dropping may occur. They can be very difficult to dislodge once they are established. High pressure direct watering can be effective to remove them.

Tomato Horn Worms

These large greenish caterpillars can be a menace to gardeners. They feed on the leaves of tomato and other garden plants and can get up to 4in. long. tomato Worms are easier to spot early in the day and at dusk because there is less sunlight at these times. Because of their size it is easy to remove them from the plants. Sometimes they also feed on the green fruit.

Tomato Psyllids

These are a scale like tiny insect who live on the underside of the leaves. The larva are basically immobile thus causing destructive patches on the leaves. These tiny bugs can stunt the growth of the tomatoes on the plant.

greenhouse whitefly

They remove the sap from the plant causing it to lose its vigor. A sticky residue is left on the plant after they feed. They can be removed by using insecticidal soaps.

These are the most harmful garden pests. Honey bees and wasps can also be added to this list, but they are beneficial to plants and gardens and rarely sting unless provoked.