ladybugs!

[happybunny]

Hi everyone, hope you are well!

DA DA DOO DOOOOOOOOO DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO itz questiony time

ok, how can I encourage ladybugs to the veg patch???

Anytips tips apprechieted

Luvin everyone
Stacey x

[Tam]

Luring Ladybugs into your garden

This is quite a good article about ladybugs and has a section on plants they enjoy.

[lzyjo]

Great link, Tam! Thank you. I had know idea what the larvae looked like. (They're kind of scary!) I also didn't know they ate aphids. Last year I had a big aphid problem, but this year I have tons of ladybugs and no aphids. Way to go ladybugs!

[Tam]

Yeah Izyjo, I have the garden in a good state now with a high number of ladybugs, lacewings and hoverflies to help in keeping down the baddies. I have reached the stage now when I am happy to see a few aphids on a rose bud as I think it will be breakfast for a ladybug baby. Coming from America, you might be able to tell me if there is any organic way of slaughtering these horrible big grey beasts (about twice the size of greenfly) that attack lupins and apparently came across the Pond from your neck of the woods. I have had to stop growing them as they don't appear to have any natural predator across here

[Tigerella]

Hi

Don't get too many ladybirds, one bit me this week. I could feel a sharp pain on my arm, when I looked down, there was a small ladybird biting my arm.
I didn't want to squash it so I blew it off, then there was just a little swelling for a few hours.

E

[Tam]

That's a first - I've never been bitten by a ladybug and never heard of anyone being bitten by one.

[Tam]

Tgerella - I think this might be your answer; it may have been a creature that resembled a ladybug.

How true is it that ladybugs bite - Helium

[happybunny]

lol, i've never been bitten by a ladybug, funny cos i always let them rn over my hands lol

[batpixie]

The One Show last night did a bit on Harlequin Ladybirds. Apparently they are known to bite humans, especially in winter when there isn't much food around.

[Tam]

The harlequn ladybird is an Asian beastie and sounds like something we could well do without, as it is very much larger than any of the native species and eats the eggs and larvae of our British ladybugs. This is a link where you can see the spread from the southeast. It is the site of a Cambridge University project and they ask for a note of any sitings.

[Tam]

Harlequin Ladybird Survey - home - sorry, I forgot to give the link.