10 Pests That Aren’t Actually Pests

They're cute and friendly, but they aggressively protect your flowers and plants by eating aphids, mealybugs, whiteflies and other garden invaders. Ladybugs (or Lady Beetles, as they're correctly called) can eat up to 50 aphids per day. The young larvae also do some heavy lifting—they will eat up to 400 before they transform into an adult insect.

You might swat and curse at them, but bees play such a vital role in your world that you might consider being nicer to them. The humble bee is the foremost pollinator of food crops on earth, and it's estimated that they're responsible for pollinating a third of the food we eat each day. The list of fruits and vegetables that rely on pollination is long, but the meat and cattle industry is dependent on bees, too: Honey bees also pollinate clover and alfalfa, which are fed to cattle. So, you can thank bees for your burger and the avocado on it, too.

These spindly creatures may look scary, but they can be helpful to have around since they will devour any garden pest. The mantis' large front legs allow them to easily grasp prey such as mosquitos, beetles, aphids and crickets. However, their big appetites can have a downside: They will also eat other helpful insects like lacewings, ladybugs and hover flies, so it's important to keep their population under control.

These beautiful insects are one of the most beneficial to have in your garden. The lacewing's ability to effortlessly chow down on caterpillars, aphids, leafhoppers, whiteflies, mealybugs and insect eggs has earned it the nickname of "aphid lion." They're a favorite of home gardeners, since they're especially helpful at protecting roses and tomatoes.

These creepy crawlers might make you cringe, but they can be essential to a healthy garden. Worms make burrows that loosen the soil, letting air and water in and encouraging roots to grow. They also excrete organic matter that makes for a potent fertilizer. And there's strength in numbers: One acre of cultivated land may be populated by as many as 500,000 earthworms.

Hover flies—also called flower flies or syrphid flies—are often mistaken for bees or wasps. They not only pollinate flowers, but they can also control aphids and other insects. Because they appear in early spring—well before most of the other "helpful" insects—they are credited with helping to produce excellent raspberry and strawberry crops.

While ground beetles aren't pleasant to look at (sorry), you should put out the welcome mat for these large non-pests. They're nocturnal and dig down into dirt and mulch to keep nighttime nuisances at bay. They feast on slugs, snails, cutworms and other garden pests, so the next time you see one crawling through your cabbages, resist the urge to step on it.

You'll want to avoid their sting, but wasps can actually be a helpful in maintaining your vegetable garden. They are known to attack the eggs of various pests, and eat a lot of caterpillars and small white larvae that can destroy your vegetables. They're especially helpful for tomato plants, as they favor caterpillars that destroy the fruit.

These winged creatures might look intimidating and induce screams as they bear down on you during a picnic (or is that just us?), but they're actually extremely helpful. The adults feed on insects and are a big help in controlling the mosquito population: A single dragonfly can eat 30 to hundreds of mosquitoes per day.

These unattractive creatures can be both beneficial and harmful (although, despite their name, they do not crawl into your ears). They like to eat garden pests such as aphids, mites and insect larvae, and primarily feed on decaying organic matter. But they are also known to destroy plants and vegetables such as dahlias, zinnias, lettuce, strawberries, potatoes and roses.