The predators are also used for the biological control of pests. The bio-control dealers have the lacewings. The ladybugs and their larvae are usually active between May and July in the northern hemisphere and act as an insatiable predator of aphids like greenfly and black fly. They consume mites, scale insects as well as small caterpillars. The ladybug is a beetle with coloured markings and its larvae are initially small and spidery that grows up to 17 mm long. The larvae usually have a tapering segmented grey or black body. They have orange and yellow markings along with ferocious mouthparts. By cultivating a patch of nettles in the garden and leaving hollow stems as well as some plant debris allows them to hibernate.
The hoverflies looks like darker bees or wasps with a characteristic hovering and darting flight patterns. There are more than 100 species of hoverfly whose larvae chiefly feed upon greenfly with larva devouring up 1000 in its lifetime. They also eat small caterpillars and fruit tree spider mites. The adults feed on nectar and pollen required for egg production. The larvae are usually 8–17 mm long that are disguised to look like bird droppings. They do not have distinct head and are legless. They are semi-transparent in a various range of colours such as green, white, brown, and black.
The hoverflies are encouraged by cultivating attractant flowers like the poached egg plant (Limnanthes douglasii) and marigolds or phacelia across the growing season. The dragonflies are major predators of mosquitoes in the water where the dragonfly naiads consume mosquito larvae, and in the air where adult dragonflies eat adult mosquitoes. The community-wide mosquito control programs focuses on spraying adult mosquitoes, however it kill dragonflies and thereby eradicating the major bio-control agent. It eventually leads to increase in mosquito populations in the long term.
Apart from these, the other useful garden predators are lacewings, aphid midge, centipedes, predatory mites, pirate bugs, rove and ground beetles. The larger fauna like toads, lizards, frogs, hedgehogs, and birds.
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