To What Extent Should We Help Pollinators?

We plant natives, we irrigate and then admire the parade of pollinators in our garden. But we’re also enabling predators like assassin bugs, crab spiders and small milkweed bugs.

A shocking number of plants in my garden are homes to predators. It’s painful to observe the latest victims to this insect offense. Should we sit back and let nature takes its course, or intervene and cull the predator population?

Considering that we’re already determining what gets planted where, and providing an unnatural amount of water for our selections, and trimming plants that become too large for the space, does it make sense to trim the predator populations too to further our pollinator agenda?

Every observation in my yard of a Leafhopper Assassin Bug with prey, shows the prey as being a beneficial pollinator, not a pest, although many in the pest category are very small critters that may escape notice. I expect there is scientific observation out there somewhere that would address this question; time will tell!

Please comment below and let us know your perspective and thoughts.