Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home
Your house is on fire and your children are gone
All except one, and that’s Little Anne
For she has crept under the warming pan.
We went walking along a local stream and found a nest of ladybugs. They will sometimes winter in protected places… waiting through the winter for warm weather to arrive when they will spread their little wings and fly to lay the eggs that will hatch into ‘Aphid Lions’ and eat aphids by the score!
Oddly, it is the babies that eat the most aphids… and these little guys don’t look anything like a ladybug! This is one of the reasons why it’s important to not use any poisons at all if you can avoid it… you might well be killing bugs that would take care of much of your bug problems.
Here are some ladybugs wintering near us…
They are near the stream.. perhaps the extra humidity near the stream is good for them… also the temperature moderation helps them. This is deep in a steep narrow canyon… this spot gets no direct sun until February…. the ladybugs may like this as it keeps them asleep through the winter… sun rays would warm them too early. They need to maintain themselves in a wintering state until the season is advanced enough for them to be able to rely on the weather.
I didn’t bring my glasses with me… so I got the focus off… rats!
Our recent storms were pretty rough for this area… many of the ladybugs got knocked off the branches and lay in a deep mat on the ground. But they are just fine… they like being all snuggled in together like this… surrounded by the grasses.. kept cool and moist as they try to semi-hibernate through the winter.
Sometimes when people have a pest problem they might buy a container of ladybugs. The idea is the ladybugs will eat your bugs. The problem is they usually fly away after being introduced to the garden. Also, one has to remember that ‘The Balance of Nature’ is not really a balance.. it is a seesaw. Once food resources are thin in an area, the eaters must find a new spot to dine. So you’ll likely lose most whatever you do… but you should also have some come in from outside areas. My concept of this issue is…. for the most part, proper conditions make for clean plants. Make sure your soil, moisture, nutrient and lighting conditions are correct for your crop, and you’ll likely get very good growth with few problems. This is why we grow cactus.. it is one of the best crops for our conditions. This is one of the limitations of the ‘locavore’ movement… sometimes it is best to bring food in from another area rather than have to expend great resources growing it locally.
If you do order ladybugs… water your garden in the late afternoon on the day you get them…. then while the garden is moist…. when the sun has gone down.. at dusk… gently shake the ladybugs from their mesh bag or container… place the rim near the ground under the canopy of leaves. Let them feel the cool moist earth and feel the enfolding leaves above as they gently roll out onto the soft fluffy ground… give them a feeling of security so they will not be greatly frightened… you want them to start off life at your place with a feeling it is a good place for them with shelter and moisture. Hopefully when the morning comes they will be in a good mood, and climbing among your plants finding good food resources, and being compelled to lay the eggs which will hatch into the voracious insects known as ‘Aphid Lions’.
BTW, while we sell our cactus…. we don’t sell the insects and animals… LOL, I’ll not be scooping these critters up to sell them off… sorry.