edit: lady bugs being released to do murder. alt text doesnt seem to have loaded correctly when posted.

  • tektite@slrpnk.netEnglish
    14·
    12 days ago

    I looked into ladybugs for aphids a few years ago and IIRC, if you can get them, they eat a ton in the larval stage. Also sometimes you go to release adults and they mostly just fly off instead of indulging in the feast you’ve presented.

    • meh@piefed.blahaj.zoneOPEnglish
      13·
      12 days ago

      at least half will just fly off. i do 3000 when the milkweed is about a foot tall. and the aphid population has become managble the past couple years. since i moved in 4 of the closest 6 houses have changed hands and all those new neighbors are gardeners. so if the bugs fly off and eat the aphids next door i’m ok with it.

  • callcc@lemmy.worldEnglish
    12·
    11 days ago

    It’s a bad idea to release insects from unknown origin even if it’s a species that’s native. They can have significant genetic differences to the local populations to cause all sorts of problems.

    Try attracting them instead by having flower meadows, etc.

    • Ledericas@lemm.eeEnglish
      101·
      12 days ago

      asian lady beetle is pratically invasive. native parasitoids are probably better at controlling aphids.

    • meh@piefed.blahaj.zoneOPEnglish
      91·
      12 days ago

      these ones arn’t native ro my area but they’re not invasive. i’ve released them the past three years and they’re chill. you can end up with a bag of the orangish fake ladybug if you go for the cheapest option on amazon though.

    • Breezy@lemmy.world
      English
      22·
      12 days ago

      I dont remember what they looked like, but having been covered in thousands of lady bugs underneath a house to eventually find out they bite, oh do they bite, i never saw them the same again. Did it hurt? Not really but i had on a tie back suit. Without i would think it wouldnt feel so great getting bitten repeatedly.

      I ended up soaking them down with commercial grade peroxide to get them off me.

  • ryannathans@aussie.zoneEnglish
    8·
    12 days ago

    Very interesting, in my garden the lady bugs seem to know exactly when to show up and I don’t have to intervene

    Any idea why yours don’t?

    • meh@piefed.blahaj.zoneOPEnglish
      21·
      12 days ago

      urban deadzone with chemically sterilized turf lawns. five years ago ants, aphids and box-elder were the only insect in the yard. i’ve set up a couple rain water ponds and planted large sections of native flowers over the past couple years. insect diversity has drastically improved, i spotted half a dozen bumblebee queens zig zagging the yard this spring. set up long piles of last seasons plant cuttings for overwintering.