Ladybugs & Gardening

Ladybugs as migrant labor; the beneficial insect.

Almost 3/4-million Ladybugs were imported and set free on the grounds of a housing complex in Manhattan, according to today's New York Times. Both ladybugs and their larvae are predators of aphids, scale insects, and other bugs that most of us gardening types consider harmful to our plants. The people at the housing complex are hoping to better manage their gardens. To read the story Harnessing the Benign Aggression of Ladybugs, click on this link.

Ladybugs are the chemical-free, natural way to manage "pest" control in gardens. It's fantastic that people are being conscientious about our environment and are making the effort to protect both ourselves and our plant life. It's a matter of using thousands of years of common-sense, nontoxic traditions.

A University of Kentucky entomology web site states that it is the "Hippodamia convergens, the convergent lady beetle," which is "a medium sized orange and black species that is commonly sold for biological control of aphids." To learn more about Ladybugs, click on this link to the University of Kentucky Entomology Critter Files.

Or, click on this link to visit a web page that discusses Ladybugs in less scientific ways, and talks about how to attract Ladybugs, purchase them, and feed them.

Where to get ladybugs for your garden? You can purchase ladybugs at GrowQuest.com, or visit your local organic gardening center.