I'm sure we all remember the ladybird beetle poem.
Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home
Your house is on fire and your children are gone
All except one, and that's Little AnneFor she has crept under the warming pan.
Average lifespan in the wild: 2 to 3 years
As children, I wonder how many of us gardeners heard or recited this ladybird beetle poem and at that time had no idea how important this friendly little critter would become in our gardening life.
Because it is such an important garden critter, I believe any information about ladybug beetles and how they protect your vegetable crop from invading pests would be a valuable asset for any beginner gardener to know.
Ladybugs are from the beetle family consisting of approximately 5000 different species most of which are up to no good in your garden. Below is an example of two of the bad guys.
Mexican Beetle Squash Bug
So what is it about a ladyird beetle that makes it such a great friend to you and your vegetable plants?
Well ... If you are an organic gardener, you already know the answer to that question. But if you're a beginner gardener here is a little more information about ladybird beetles you will find useful and perhaps help persuade you to become an organic gardener.
Ladybird beetles are voracious eaters feasting on a variety of vegetable pests such as aphids, mealybugs, scale insects, spider mites, and eggs of the Colorado potato beetle and European corn borer.
One of a ladybird beetles favorite meals are aphids and in its lifetime a ladybug will consume more than 5000 of these pests (statistics from USDA information about ladybugs).
And if that's not enough to rid your vegetable garden of these bothersome pest, the female ladybird beetle will lay hundreds of eggs where she knows aphids are present and when they hatch, the ladybug larvae immediately begin to feed on these pests, thereby insuring a continuation of the ladybug species.
And to all us gardeners, that is indeed good news.
Now that you read information about ladybugs,
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to continue reading about other friendly critters (located under the heading "The Good Critters") that protect your vegetable garden plants. You can also go to
Pest Control: Growing Plants to Attract Beneficial Insects
published by Colorado State University.
Happy Gardening
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