LADYBUGS: The ladies of the garden!

This past week my wife and I added several hundred six-legged bug friends to our garden to protect the many plants and fruit trees from aphids and other unwanted insects. It is one of the few beetles liked by humans and in many cultures considered good luck. The new friend to our garden is the ladybug.

Many people are fond of ladybugs because of their colorful, spotted appearance. Most people like them because they are pretty, graceful, and harmless to humans. But gardeners and farmers love them because they eat aphids and other plant-eating pests. One ladybug can eat up to 5,000 insects in its lifetime! Most ladybugs have oval, dome-shaped bodies with six short legs. Depending on the species, they can have spots, stripes, or no markings at all. Seven-spotted ladybugs are red or orange with three spots on each side and one in the middle. They have a black head with white patches on either side.

The shell on its back protects it from predators. Its wings fold against the body serving to protect its underside. Ladybugs have sharp instincts and feel vibrations through their legs. This allows them to sense energy of whatever they touch and is another form of protection. In spite of the ladybug’s size, it is appears to be fearless.

There are numerous species of ladybugs (also called ladybeetles); just in Idaho alone there are some 80 species. However the most commonly known are the Two spotted and the Seven spotted ladybugs. Most are typically beetle-shaped, brightly colored and usually spotted. In many cultures, ladybugs are considered good luck.

Ladybugs are colorful for a reason. Their markings tell predators: “Eat something else! I taste terrible.” When threatened, the bugs will secrete an oily, foul-tasting fluid from joints in their legs. They may also play dead. Birds are ladybugs’ main predators, but they also fall victim to frogs, wasps, spiders, and dragonflies.

Ladybugs lay their eggs in clusters or rows on the underside of a leaf, usually where aphids have gathered. Larvae, which vary in shape and color based on species, emerge in a few days. Seven-spotted ladybug larvae are long, black, and spiky-looking with orange or yellow spots. Some say they look like tiny alligators. Larvae grow quickly and shed their skin several times. When they reach full size, they attach to a leaf by their tail, and a pupa is formed. Within a week or two, the pupa becomes an adult ladybug.

Ladybugs are happy in many different habitats, including grasslands, forests, cities, suburbs, and along rivers. Seven-spotted ladybugs are native to Europe but were brought to North America in the mid-1900s to control aphid populations. Ladybugs are most active from spring until fall. When the weather turns cold, they look for a warm, secluded place to hibernate, such as in rotting logs, under rocks, or even inside houses. These hibernating colonies can contain thousands of ladybugs.

The name “ladybug” was coined by European farmers who prayed to the Virgin Mary when pests began eating their crops. After ladybugs came and wiped out the invading insects, the farmers named them “beetle of Our Lady.” This eventually was shortened to “lady beetle” and “ladybug.”

In another case in the 1800s, the orange and lemon farmers in California began having problems with insects destroying whole groves of orange and lemon trees. The insects were Australian scale insects, so the farmers imported Australian ladybugs and released them into orchards. Within two years the orchards were free of the scale bugs and the entire California orange and lemon industry was saved by ladybugs.

Ladybugs can eat a significant number of aphids in short order, and they add a certain amount of charm to the garden. However, only the ones that don’t fly away as soon as you release them will make your garden a home and protect your plants.

Enjoy your garden as you experience the weather of June and the beautiful outdoors in Boundary County.