Ladybirds

[noidea]

Hullo there

Is there anything I can do to encourage ladybirds???

C

[Paulottie]

Give em a clap!?

Or, provide winter housing, they like privet hedges or bundles of old stalks to crawl in.

[Alice]

Ladybirds eat aphids. So the logic would go, if you want more ladybirds, get more aphids. Sorry if that sounds flippant but don't know of any way to encourage them beyond their food supply.


Don't want to hijack this thread but a few years ago I was in St. Malo, Brittany, and the ramparts were covered in Ladybirds, inches thick (literally) millions or billions of them and the pavements covered in dead ladybirds. It was quite horrible.
Anybody know what that's about ?

[noidea]

That sounds a bit creepy Alice.

I just wondered about the ladybirds as we have loadsssss out the front of our house but very very few in the back garden.

We have millions of apids though so am wondering why they are missing the feast!

C

[srodders]

Don't want to hijack this thread but a few years ago I was in St. Malo, Brittany, and the ramparts were covered in Ladybirds, inches thick (literally) millions or billions of them and the pavements covered in dead ladybirds. It was quite horrible.
Anybody know what that's about ?

It was like that in '76 in Norfolk. The hot weather had led to an abundance of aphids - which in turn led to an abundance of ladybirds.

It really is a case of provide a food source and they will be there.