The Rural Voice, 2002-05, Page 40They're a boon to crop protection but a plague for owners of
older homes who have been invaded by these aliens
from south of the border
By Bonnie Gropp
They may be a boon to soybean
growers, but for homeowners
the influx of ladybugs has
become somewhat of a nuisance.
While much has been said of the
fact that the lady beetles we're seeing
now are not 'real' ladybugs,
according to University of Guelph
Professor of environmental biology
Steve Marshall
there are 500
species in
North America
which are
members of
the one family.
"The ones
we are seeing
now, the
multi -coloured
Asian lady
beetle were
deliberately
introduced into
the United
States for the
control of
aphids in
1991," said
Marshall
However.
there was no
permit ever
granted for
their release
into Canada.
Through one way or another
however, the Asian lady beetle found
its way here with the first being
recorded in 1994.
Marshall predicted, accurately it
would seem, that the number of
beetles would soon be abundant.
"Last year there was an enormous
population explosion," said Marshall,
a fact that has raised some concerns.
"Any time you introduce exotic
predators without considering the
impact on native species there is a
concern." Marshall talks of upsetting
bio -diversity and notes that the
spotted lady beetle, which is native to
Ontario, has been eliminated. Other
species are
now rare.
What has
prompted the
growth in
population is
quite likely the
reason the lady
beetles found
their way here.
Information
from the
Ministry of
Natural
Resources
states that the
population
grows in
response to an
increase in c
their prey. o
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36 THE RURAL VOICE
a
Lady beetles z
are the most a
beneficial of
all insects
because they 8
prey upon 8