Ladybugs

[digitS']

Vfem, they'll show up in our yards in a few more weeks.

I guess the ladybeetles lay eggs in the trees and the larvae drop down to the lawn. I'll find them crawling on me when I'm sitting out there. And, despite blowing and singing:

Ladybug. Ladybug.
Fly away home.
Your house is on fire,
and your children all gone.
All except one,
and that's Ann,
for she has crept under
the frying pan.

. . . they will NOT fly away. (I suppose that is because they are all named Ann and don't have wings yet. )

digitS'

edited to say: I bet they eat even more aphids than the adults, however .

 

[desertgirl]

One way to know that you should check for aphids is if you see ladybugs on your plants. And, the horrible-looking ladybug larva - we should all get to know what they look like so as not to freak out and spray them with anything. If a ladybug is cute, its baby looks like some kind of tiny dragon, or something !

Ladybug larva photo

DesertGirl, with the plants packed in tight - it is tuff to spray with a stream of water or with an insecticide. I use insecticidal soap to kill aphids - it works great but spray near sundown so that the plants don't suffer . You can also rinse them off with water the next morning.

One good thing about insecticidal soap is that it is not supposed to cause any harm to hard-bodied insects like the adult ladybeetles. One shouldn't spray their larvae, however.

Steve

I have started using a soap solution, and checking them each morning. Seems to have resolved. I've also started leaving the top up, so that the natural predators can help me out (before, it seems like only the bad bugs were getting in!).



(I think the larvae are kind of cool looking!)