Ladybird Beetle, Late Spring In the U.S., "ladybird beetle" is finally catching up to "ladybug." While not a true bug in the hemiptera sense, many people really don't care that certain qualifications must be met for an arthropod to be called a "bug."
We see them all spring and summer, and they sort of make you smile, these busy little beetles, all pretty and friendly. Except, how friendly are they? Back in the early 1980s, a local municipality always had us treat the aphids in the trees that overhang the city pool. One year, they opted instead to purchase ladybird beetles and release hundreds into the trees to control the aphid using a natural method.
In theory, it was a great idea. Those hungry little meat-eaters ate aphids by the thousands, and within a few weeks had the situation well in hand. In fact, they completely eliminated their food supply, and not willing to go hungry, they began biting the children in the pool! We were then reluctantly contacted to "see what we could do" about the problem of angry ladybird beetles attacking the kids.
Voracious predators, most species are fantastic at search-and-destroy methods versus aphids and mites, both of which can cause your plants extreme stress and death. Provoked, they can deliver a nasty pinch to a human as well, but it's not very common.
We see them all spring and summer, and they sort of make you smile, these busy little beetles, all pretty and friendly. Except, how friendly are they? Back in the early 1980s, a local municipality always had us treat the aphids in the trees that overhang the city pool. One year, they opted instead to purchase ladybird beetles and release hundreds into the trees to control the aphid using a natural method.
In theory, it was a great idea. Those hungry little meat-eaters ate aphids by the thousands, and within a few weeks had the situation well in hand. In fact, they completely eliminated their food supply, and not willing to go hungry, they began biting the children in the pool! We were then reluctantly contacted to "see what we could do" about the problem of angry ladybird beetles attacking the kids.
Voracious predators, most species are fantastic at search-and-destroy methods versus aphids and mites, both of which can cause your plants extreme stress and death. Provoked, they can deliver a nasty pinch to a human as well, but it's not very common.
Ladybird Beetle Larvae, Late September Usually appearing as soon as it gets a little warm in early spring, ladybird beetles continue to procreate until it's too darn cold to do so. That means it's not impossible to see larvae on the leaves of a tree late into the fall in our part of the world. And since the larvae look so strikingly different from what you normally see on a typical walk through the backyard, we frequently have alarmed customers asking us to come treat the caterpillars devouring their leaves!
Once we see the larvae chomping away on the aphids, leafrollers, and other damaging insects, we explain that they're doing a good job, organic solutions, yadda yadda yadda. Sometimes, however, their presence is too little, too late. If the tree is truly stressed from a late-summer aphid attack, the hearty beetle may be unable to catch up to the aphid population, and a well-timed systemic injection can then kill the aphid just as the larvae pupate, meaning the aphid will die before the majority of ladybird beetles emerge as adults.
So if you see this battle-hardened larvae on a leaf on your tree or your garden, let it continue fighting the good fight in the perpetual eating contest that defines this predator.
Once we see the larvae chomping away on the aphids, leafrollers, and other damaging insects, we explain that they're doing a good job, organic solutions, yadda yadda yadda. Sometimes, however, their presence is too little, too late. If the tree is truly stressed from a late-summer aphid attack, the hearty beetle may be unable to catch up to the aphid population, and a well-timed systemic injection can then kill the aphid just as the larvae pupate, meaning the aphid will die before the majority of ladybird beetles emerge as adults.
So if you see this battle-hardened larvae on a leaf on your tree or your garden, let it continue fighting the good fight in the perpetual eating contest that defines this predator.
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