Geek out: Grab a book, lens and learn about bugs

Question: This coming season, I'm really going to focus on learning my bugs. Any advice on how to tell the good bugs from the bad.

Answer: A great way to start teaching yourself to identify beneficial insects in your garden is to start looking at LOTS of photos. If you are like me, picture books on insects can help you be poised to recognize things once you see them out in your yard.

Next, buy a hand lens, and wear it around your neck. You may look like a geek, but you'll be an informed and entertained one. There's nothing like looking at creepy crawlies up close and personal to steepen your learning curve. I bought mine at a university bookstore.

Get a good local book on Pacific Northwest insects/invertebrates too, especially one focused on common garden invertebrates. A good place to start is to print out the color photo-illustrated guide to natural enemies co-published by OSU Extension and Oregon Tilth called "A Pocket Guide – Common Natural Enemies of Crop and Garden Pests in the Pacific Northwest" (EC 1613-E), published by the Oregon State University Extension Service and Oregon Tilth.

Tuck this booklet in your jacket pocket for the next month or three. Filled with color macroscopic photos of many types of natural predators in various life stages, along with identification and observation tips, this guide will teach you the basics.

Next, think about growing some plants that attract beneficial insects. Local scientists have researched a raft of plants for their abilities to attract beneficials. Here are some of the best to plant around in your veggie beds and flower garden. All are easy to grow.

Annuals that attract beneficials include: cilantro, sweet alyssum, flowering buckwheat, crimson clover and cowpeas.

Perennials and biennials include: spearmint, yarrow, wild buckwheat, white sweet clover, tansy (not the ragwort kind), sweet fennel, Queen Anne's lace, hairy vetch, caraway and black locust

I tend to stick with growing more of the annuals, as they seem less daunting than trying to figure out where to put perennials. Cilantro and sweet alyssum proved to be particularly effective in attracting hoverflies, whose larvae are voracious aphid predators.

Timber Press in Portland offers many wonderful books on botany, horticulture and gardening, including pest control and beneficial insects. Look through their catalog at timberpress.com for wealth of books about insects.