Our Spotted Little Friends

Ladybugs are cute and colorful. From the time I was a child, I always admired them. I was taught that they bring luck, perhaps a German folktale. They are lucky though, lucky to the environment in several different ways. Ladybugs are one of the most common beetles in the world with about 5,000 species in total. North America alone has about 300 different ladybug types. Ladybugs are actually beetles that come from the Coccinellidae family of beetles. They prey on tiny insects that can destroy crops and gardens. Most ladybugs in the United States have red, orange or yellow wing covers with black spots. They are quite small but powerful in their attempt to rid us of unwanted creatures.

Ladybugs are beneficial to farmers because they help eliminate pests in a safe and inexpensive way. Ladybugs eat other insects and larvae including scales, mealy bugs, leaf hoppers, mites and other soft-bodied insects. They are natural enemies of many garden pests. A single ladybug may consume as many as 5,000 aphids throughout its lifetime. Aphids are tiny insects that feed on plant juices and destroy crops. The hundreds of eggs that ladybugs lay in aphid colonies become larvae when they hatch and feed on aphids immediately.

According to the Ohio State University Extension, both the adult ladybug and its larvae are major consumers of aphids, soft scaled insects and spider mites, mealy bugs as well as the eggs of the Colorado potatoe beetle and European corn borer. Ladybugs are also fast reproducers (about one month from egg to adult) and have big appetites, making them extremely useful to farmers in protecting their crops from harmful insects. They are capable of most definitely reducing if not eliminating the need for chemical pesticides.

Our little colorful friends also protect our forests. Many ladybugs have adapted to living in trees and feed on aphids and other tree dwelling insects. The larvae of ladybugs are often found eating twig aphids. Many tree farmers use ladybugs by releasing them into their tree fields in the springtime to help control twig aphids. In the 1880’s, ladybugs were brought over from Australia to attempt to save orange trees in California from unwanted pests. This has turned out to be a success with over 100 different species being sent to North America to aid in pest control.

Ladybugs should be encouraged to remain in our gardens. Some plants that attract them to the home garden are dill, catnip, thyme, daisies, cornflower, yarrow, bee balm, alyssum, marigolds and salvia. They can also be purchased commercially for release into the garden. Let’s make ladybugs the best friend our gardens ever had.