Left: Stink Bug (Spined Soldier Bug) eats Japanese Beetle.
The spined soldier bug is a true predatory insect that attacks and eats live prey.
Right: The bee-like
Robber Fly shown eating a Japanese Beetle. The
Robber Fly is also a predatory insect that catches and eats live prey.
Below Right: Wheel bug eats Japanese Beetle on rose.
The Assassin Bug, or Wheel Bug is yet another example of predatory insects that work to keep our gardens healthy.
Left: Adult Asian Lady Beetle or
Lady Bug. A voracious predatory insect that aggressively eats aphids, some types of scale and some have reported spider mites as a Lady Bug delicacy. The Lady
Bug may be the most effective predatory insect because of its aggressive appetite and high populations when compared to other beneficial insects.
Right: The Minute Pirate Bug or insidious flower bug is another important beneficial insect. It will consume spider mites, aphids, thrips, insect eggs and small worms including the infamous budworm on roses.
Adult minute pirate bugs can consume 30 spider mites per day.

Adult
Larvae/Aphid Lion
Adult Right: Hoverfly adults are not predatory themselves, but their larvae eat aphids, thrips and leafhoppers.
Paper Wasps
Left: Lacewing are predatory in both the larval stage, called the “aphid lion” and the adult stage (below left). The aphid lion is a voracious eater, attacking aphids, budworms and other small caterpillars, and any other small soft bodied insect.
The adult stage feeds mainly on aphids and mites, sometimes eating 100 aphids in a single week.
Adult
Parasitic Wasps
Larvae Eating Aphids
Due to these and other beneficial insects in your rose garden, Witherspoon Rose Culture recommends using your insecticide protectants only when harmful insects are seen.