On 3/18/10 8:57 AM, Bill who putters wrote:
We have a few that live here. The ladybug is common. Ant lions like
it near our house on the south side where they lie in wait for ants to
tumble in to their large jaws. They then turn into Green Lacewings and
travel about munching insects in time.
I used to gather praying mantis cases at a nearby large field but it
now has houses and a large lawn. Just ordered two cases don't ask how
much (
Bill


With one exception, I don't artificially introduce beneficial insects.
After paying for them, too often they fly away to my neighbors. I do
see swarms of lady bugs arrive naturally, often before I even notice
aphids.

The one exception is that I set out carnivorous decollate snails, which
eat the eggs and young of brown snails. These are legal only in certain
areas (fortunately including where I live). See
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/r107500111.html.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary