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University of Minnesota Extension
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Insects

Pollinators

Bee Campus UMN Twin Cities

UMN Twin Cities is an affiliate of Bee Campus USA, an initiative of the Xerces Society that raises awareness of the importance of pollinators and actions each of us can take to help pollinators.

Honey bees, bumble bees and native bees

Visit the Bee Lab for information on helping pollinators

Landscapes to help bees and other pollinators

Grow bee lawns and pollinator friendly plants

Flowers for Minnesota bees

List of plants for bee food and habitat

Wasps and bees

Learn how to identify social wasps and bees and how to get rid of their nests.

Yard and garden insects

Beneficial insects

Lacewings, lady beetles, minute pirate bugs, parasitoid wasps, syrphid flies

Flower insects

Four-lined plant bug, iris borers, rose chafers, spider mites, wasps and bees

Fruit and vegetable insects

Insects and other bugs that particularly help, harm or feed on fruits and vegetables

Lawn insects

Bluegrass billbug, cicada killers, cutworms, white grubs

Tree and shrub insects

Aphids, caterpillars, Japanese beetles, scales, sawflies

Biting insects and insect relatives

Black flies, mosquitoes and ticks

News

Asian lady beetle on a leaf.

Asian lady beetles are drawn to soybean fields, where they feast on aphids throughout the growing season. But once the crops are harvested and temperatures begin to drop, the beetles start looking for a warm place to spend the winter.

A funnel weaver spider in its funnel, waiting for prey.

The handiwork of these quiet, efficient predators glistens in the cooling days of fall.

cabbage used in classroom setting to show pest problems

University of Minnesota Extension educator Marissa Schuh used decorative craft models and art supplies to prepare a lesson on food crop pest scouting.

Yard and Garden News

Timely information to help you care for your yard and garden.

Page survey

© 2025 Regents of the University of Minnesota. All rights reserved. The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer. This work is supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.