Damsel bugs are found on foliage of all crops where they seek out aphids, insect eggs and small insect larvae. Minute pirate bugs are observed most frequently in flowers or in crevices of a green plant where they feed on thrips, spider mites and insect eggs. Other predatory bugs common in yards and gardens include ambush bugs and assassin bugs. Various species of ground beetles are found under debris in soil cracks or moving along the ground. Immature stages are distinctly different in form from adults and more often are found active within the top few inches of soil.
Ground beetles are general feeders with powerful jaws.
Almost any garden pest that spends part or all of its life on the soil surface may be prey for these insects. A large number of wasps from several insect families prey on insect pests. Many of these wasps take their insect prey, whole or in pieces, back to their mud, soil or paper nests to feed to the immature wasps. These hunting wasps can be very important in controlling garden insect pests. For example, the common Polistes paper wasps, when hunting, may thoroughly search plants and feed on caterpillars, often providing substantial control of these insects.