The Rural Voice, 2001-11, Page 27Gardening
In praise of the humbe ladybug
By Rhea Hamilton -Seeger
Lady bug, Lady bug,
Fly away home.
Your house is on fire and your
children alone.
What a sad little ditty yet one that
was repeated often when I was a
child. I suppose now it would be
considered too violent for today's
youngsters. This past summer has
seen a riot of red in the garden with
heavy infestations of lady bugs.
Maybe infestation is too negative for
these delightful, beneficial guardians
of our gardens.
Lady bugs are
members of a large
family called
Coccinellidae, which
means scarlet red. With
the exception of one
branch which contains
the Mexican bean beetle
and the squash beetle,
all members of this
family are beneficial, preying on
aphids, scale insects or mealy bugs in
both their larval and beetle stages.
I have seen pictures of the larvae
which are flat, carrot -shaped bodies,
broad at the head and tapering to the
end, with a rather warty back spotted
with blue or orange on a greyish -
black background. The eggs are
usually orange and stand on end in a
cluster of a dozen or so. The pupae,
exposed on the leaf, are cemented to
it by one end. I must admit I have
only seen the adult stage of the lady
bug and have enjoyed their presence
in the garden. Last winter we had
them in the house - deep in the
window sills, buzzing around the
light at night and occasionally
flipping into someone's supper. I was
both excited and fascinated by them
and found myself carefully picking
them off lampshades and setting them
onto plants where I always seem to
have aphids or white fly.
It is amazing that one little female
lady beetle may lay up to 1,500 eggs
over a period of one to two months.
The life cycle, from egg to adult, is
12 days in warm weather, 20 to 35
days in cool weather. A full grown
larva will consume 25 aphids a day
which increases to 50 when it
matures into a full adult. Total that
over a season and you get 90 adult
and 3,000 scale insects consumed
during the stage of a larva and double
that for a full adult beetle. It is easy
to understand why these wonderful
little insects are so coveted in our
gardens.
This summer I caught my husband
swatting at a lady bug on his arm.
That is not just done. But he replied
when they bite him, he has to swat
them. "Lady bugs don't bite," was
my response and we had
a bit of a discussion about
insects and sprays. But
gardeners are always
learning new things. At a
fall workshop for master
gardeners I heard of a few
others lamenting about
"biting ladybugs". One of
speakers, Dr. Stephen
Marshall from Guelph
University who specializes in insects,
confirmed that yes, ladybugs will bite
when overcrowded and hungry.
Makes sense.
The Canadian Nature Federation
has recently completed a five-year
study of lady beetles and the results
are posted on their web site. The
seven -spotted and Southern Lady
beetle were the most commonly
spotted. They outnumbered our
native species of Two -spotted and
Thirteen -spotted by almost five
times.
As usual we have been messing
with the lady beetles for quite some
time. Since the successful
introduction of Australian lady
beetles in 1880 to save the orange
trees, we have introduced 170 species
of lady beetles. Their results indicate
that native species are being stressed
with the invasion of new species. If
the new species are fulfilling the
same role we may not notice any real
difference. But we don't know all the
facts yet. Some of the new species
may not be able to fulfill the same
needs to the ecosystem as our own
native beetles. Something to watch
for.
For a wonderful colourful
identification list of lady beetles
check out the Canadian Nature
Federation website - http://cnf.ca.
They are in the midst of a frog/toad
study and you could be part of that
too.0
Rhea Hamilton -Seeger and her
husband raise two children at their
home near Auburn. She is a skilled
cook and gardener.
Along the Maitland
4440/2o!,
November 10 & 11, 2001
10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Be sure to join us for a unique
gardening experience
- Wonderful Gifts for the Gardener'
FOR THE CHRISTMAS SEASON
• Sleigh Rides
• Living and Cut
Christmas Trees
• A Delightful Selection al
Garden Christmas Gifts
UPCOMING GARDENING EVENTS
• Hands -On Pruning Demo
• Heritage Perennials - What's New
for 2002
• Trough Gardening
• Water Gardening
For further info calf 519-335-3240
or visit our website at maitlandmanor.com
MAITLAND MANOR NURSERY
& LANDSCAPING
"Great Gardens Begin Here"
Hwy. 86 East of Bluevale
519-335-3240
CRIME
STOPPERS
1.500.222 -TIPS
NOVEMBER 2001 25