The insects and their actions and reactions are the garden’s backbone. As many insects quietly go about their business of clearing broken bits of plants from the soil’s surface, decomposing dead material, incorporating organic matter into the soil, dispersing animal droppings, gathering nectar, pollinating plants, chewing on leaves and flowers, and serving as dinner for birds and bats, another hoard of insects—the predators and parasitoids—are doing their best to find every last one and kill them. Such is life.

Eric Grissell–Insects and Gardens: In Pursuit of a Garden Ecology