Dandelions are the bane of the lawn enthusiasts existence. The beautiful green suburban pastures ruined with these hard to get rid of weeds. But are they really so bad? Or are they even good to have around? Here are a just few reasons why they are actually a good thing for your Garden and the critters that live in it.

Good for the Pollinators

During the early spring many of the pollinators favourite plants are still just getting started for the year. Dandelions however have usually made an appearance and provide much needed food and energy for emerging beneficial insects. One common and important one are Bumble Bee Queens who are out in often cool mornings looking to establish a nest. Dandelions can literally be the difference for the struggling Queens survival.

Helping Garden Predators

Wasps might not be as kindly looked on by people as bees are. They are more fearsome looking than a fuzzy Bumblebee and lets face it, they are a bit pushy when you are enjoying a meal outside, especially the Yellowjacket varsity. But these insects are immensely important for a healthy garden as they are top predators keeping insects who harm plants under control. While adult wasps feed primarily on carbohydrates, they do prey on other insects to feed their growing young. For many wasp, just as bees, Dandelions are an important food source when other sources are not available.

They are Actually Nice to Look At

We are mostly taught to hate weeds, but this has always perplexed me. The flowering Dandelions look very striking and can be a great addition to your garden. On top of that they do not require any maintenance, watering, or fertilizer. They are drought resistant, hardy and can grow almost anywhere. I am not suggesting turning your lawn into a sea of Dandelions but just consider if you need to remove them everywhere. There are many places in the yard where they make great bright yellow additions to the yard and many beneficial critters that will appreciate it.

There are many reasons to like Dandelions and these are just a few. These plants are certainly helpful to people and much healthier to your yard than you might think. The Bee has come a long way in peoples appreciation. Maybe some of the less liked insects and plants will make there way there too.

This could be the original odd couple . Back on July 1st I tweeted about this strange living relationship between this garden spider and this nest of wasps. These two species had been living seemingly peacefully for almost two weeks at the point of my first tweet.

Several days later they were still apparently friendly

A few days ago I checked the location again and to my disappointment I did not see the spider. Yellow Jacket Wasps are powerful warriors and formidable predators. While as adults they tend to consume primarily carbohydrates with sugar rich foods like fruits and tree sap. However they do also collect meats which they feed to their young larva. Spiders in turn do sometimes prey on wasps if the spider is large enough and the wasp is adequately subdued in the spiders web.

This morning I decided to have another look, and low and behold , they are sill living side by side (see top image). The spider looks quite healthy and seems to have put on size since the first photos. It makes me wonder if the disappearance of the spider was perhaps due to it molting.



Both spiders and wasps are considered very beneficial to humans as both remove a large amount of pest insects and so are important for agriculture. Bees have gotten a lot of good press in recent years about how important they are in pollination and while this is great, many other species also deserve a more positive spotlight.