I love our garden, but so does something else... APHIDS! Wow, those tiny guys are a pain. The picture below is what the back of many of our cantaloupe leaves look like.
We've learned so much about gardening, including the fact that we have much more to learn. Did you know that ants farm these little creeps? Yep. They carry the little bundles of joy around and leave them in a nice location along the veins of the leaves. In return, they excrete a sweet substance that ants love. Next thing you know, your leaves are being sucked dry.

BUT... God did have a plan (surprise, surprise!). Aphids have many predators. One of my favorites is the ladybug.
Here are a few more that I discovered that like to dine on aphids. This is a Green Lacewing. I was thrilled to see some in my garden... along with their eggs!
Here's another... it's a Green Lynx Spider. The only problem is, they like to eat honey bees and other spiders, too. But, I figure they aphids are easier to catch, so they'll get more of those than the pollinators.
This is a predator that I've been wondering about. I just found out that it's a Long-Legged Fly. They're very pretty. Best of all through, they eat small insects! Yay!

Back to the ladybugs... because we all love them. So, how do we attract more ladybugs to our gardens? You can buy and release them in your garden, but how do you know that they won't all go straight over to the Jones' house next door? The answer is... we must create a happy home for them. Not only do they eat aphids, but they require a source of pollen and water. Who'da thought? (I didn't) And for goodness sake, no poison!

The most popular flowers they are attracted to have umbrella shaped flowers such as fennel, dill, cilantro, caraway, angelica, tansy, wild carrot & yarrow. Other plants that also attract ladybugs include cosmos (especially the white ones), coreopsis, and scented geraniums, dandelions.

I spray a little water over the leaved of my plants when I water just to make it plentiful. Next year, I'll plan on planting some of these type of plants around the garden. We only have two resident ladybugs that we're aware of right now. They're both Asian type ladybugs. We haven't seen a native nine-spotted ladybug yet.

There are many different types of ladybugs. All of them are beneficial. There is some concern that our native ladybug is disappearing, though. You can help Cornell University with their Lost Ladybug Project by going here: http://www.lostladybug.org/.

In case you aren't aware, these guys are also ladybugs. They're good... don't freak out! These ladybugs are in their larval stage and will become much more graceful at the end of their cycle.

Have fun with your garden! If you have any bug tips or hints, please share!!!