Butterflies and Moths
I think most would agree that butterflies and moths are some of the most charismatic and beautiful insects we encounter in gardens. In their caterpillar stage, they are generally herbivores (i.e. plant eaters), which means they eat the leaves and other parts of plants. This can make plants look pretty bedraggled, but in the native plant/insect garden these partly consumed plants are a triumph. They co-evolved with insects and almost always make a full recovery and put out new growth. Butterflies and moths are also very important pollinators in the landscape.
Native Bees
There are over twenty thousand bee species worldwide and hundreds of native species in the eastern United States, ranging from the size of a rice grain up to the largest that measure an inch or more in length. In the photo above, a bumble bee, massive in comparison, occupies the same flower as a sweat bee, one of the smallest bee species in our garden. Bees are probably the most important insects for pollination and some flowers require buzz pollination, or sonication, which is something bumble bees have evolved to perform in order to shake pollen grains loose. Bumble bees are also stronger than other bees and can open flowers like those of Bottle Gentian that have closed petals and must be prized apart.
Spiders
Even if you are averse to them, you want to attract spiders to your garden. They are some of the most beneficial predators you can find, consuming many insects that can become pests like aphids and flies. They're also pretty fascinating to watch in action while on the hunt, especially jumping spiders like the one pictured above. Other common spiders in the garden are orb weavers, often called garden spiders, that create intricate webs that catch flying insects like mosquitos and flies. These two types have very different hunting strategies, but are very effective at pest control.
Mantids
Mantids like the above are beneficial predators that prey on flies, crickets, and sometimes bees, butterflies, and moths. In our garden, we have seen them eat honeybees, which are a non-native species known to be voracious consumers of pollen and nectar from wildflowers and thus competitors to our native bee species for food resources.