Common Spring Garden Soil Pests & Beneficials

Summary of post
I've been digging up lots of different insects, slugs and etc in my yard this spring and often wonder which ones are good and which are bad. Here are some common critters you might encounter in your garden dirt: earthworms and cicadas (beneficials), white grubs, cutworms and wireworms (pests).

Beneficials
Earthworms
I always feel bad when I scoop up a shovelful of dirt and discover that I've amputated or worse yet decapitated yet another of these beneficial creatures. (Though it can be difficult to tell the head or tail apart!) Some earthworm species can regenerated amputated body parts, i.e., the tail. But you're not going to get two worms if you cut one in half ;). Here's some interesting worm reading.

Cicadas
Depending on how you look at it, cicadas can be a pest or a beneficial. Pest because their feeding on plant roots might or might not hurt the plant. (Scientists are somewhat up in the air about this and more experiments are needed). Also, cicada mommies can get carried away when cutting slits in tree bark to lay eggs, and end up slicing the tree in two (just kidding...really!). Beneficial because cicadas feed other animals in your garden. By that I don't mean cicadas provide food to the birds and such, I mean that cicadas are the food. Deep fried cicadas are a real treat. "Flying Peanuts" I fondly call them. A golden crisp shell encloses a creamy nutty filling, perfect with your favorite dinner aperitif!

Pests
White Grubs (Scarab beetle larvae)