The difference boils down to competition and the species’ roles in the ecosystem.
Because beneficial insects are generally native or naturalized to the area, they tend to already have a role to play in the ecosystem. This means that their population is unlikely to grow out of control and push out other native species, since they already have a niche to fill and predators to keep them in check.
Invasive species, on the other hand, are not native to the environment, which means that in most cases they do not fit comfortably into the ecosystem. Instead, they will likely have to push out native species, which can be deadly to those species and detrimental to the ecosystem as a whole due to unforeseen consequences of losing native species (look up the introduction of weasels to New Zealand in the late 1800s for a prime example).
Practically speaking, what this means is that gardeners should only introduce native or naturalized beneficial insects into their gardens. Companies that sell beneficial insects responsibly should know this info and only sell the correct species for your area.
The difference boils down to competition and the species’ roles in the ecosystem.
Because beneficial insects are generally native or naturalized to the area, they tend to already have a role to play in the ecosystem. This means that their population is unlikely to grow out of control and push out other native species, since they already have a niche to fill and predators to keep them in check.
Invasive species, on the other hand, are not native to the environment, which means that in most cases they do not fit comfortably into the ecosystem. Instead, they will likely have to push out native species, which can be deadly to those species and detrimental to the ecosystem as a whole due to unforeseen consequences of losing native species (look up the introduction of weasels to New Zealand in the late 1800s for a prime example).
Practically speaking, what this means is that gardeners should only introduce native or naturalized beneficial insects into their gardens. Companies that sell beneficial insects responsibly should know this info and only sell the correct species for your area.