Has anyone else noticed a jillion itty bitty ladybugs/ladybirds in their gardens recently? We're overrun with them:

Aww I used to love seeing them.

Btw, I'm sure that's one of your piccies...I've looked at your album...you've got a helluva knack there.

Aww, thanks. I like taking pictures.

That's a gorgeous photo. Here in PA, my brother's back garden is swarming with them, so much so they got a "Ladybug X-ing" sign.

I looked at your photo album and you have taken some lovely pics there There are a lot of ladybugs over here in the US too (You probably know since you lived here, lol). Something I find strange though, I see them here in the winter too. I wonder how they survive through the cold. I haven't seen any in the UK during winter time, weird!

I used to think they were cute... not anymore. Infestations are prevalent here in the US and they are quite the nuisance.

Jen

They overwinter in our garden; we leave some herbaceous perennials untrimmed in the winter or we take the dead trimmings and scatter them on the flowerbed. In the winter if you look underneath...nothing but ladybugs. We garden organically as much as we can (we do spray the roses for aphids) and this is the payoff.

isn't it ladybird?

Lady bird, lady bug, lady beetle... all acceptable.

http://ohioline.osu.edu/hse-fact/1030.html

I know! But as HA is a Yank abroad, I wondered if she would call them what the Brits do....

I switch between the two.

That's cool, you can see them all year round then.

Yep, but in winter they're not doing much. I should have taken a photo in February; I lifted up some dead plant material I had cut down in the fall and left on the flower bed and counted about 200 ladybugs underneath, so I gently put it back down. Little red dots everywhere!

Wow! I've never seen that many in the one spot before, it must have been nice to see. I used to love them when I was kid, I still like them now. Mind you, I used to love snails too, I would keep them in a shoe box outside with food in it, and holes in the box so they could breath. Kind of silly when I think about it now, lol. Good luck with your garden and your ladybugs!

Excellent little creatures for eating all those nasty, annoying aphids too.

I love 'em. They just seem so....cheery.

he life cycle of the ladybug is between four to six weeks.

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In Europe, during the Middle Ages, insects were destroying the crops, so the Catholic farmers prayed to the Virgin Mary for help. Soon the Ladybugs came, ate the plant-destroying pests and saved the crops! The farmers began calling the ladybugs "The Beetles of Our Lady", and they eventually became known as "Lady Beetles"! The red wings represented the Virgin's cloak and the black spots represented her joys and sorrows.



In Sweden, folks believe that if a ladybug lands on a young maiden's hand, she will soon be getting married. If you find a ladybug in your house, count the number of spots and that is how many dollars you will soon receive.

In England, finding a ladybug means that you will have a good harvest.

In France, if you are sick and a ladybug lands on you, when it flies away, it will take the sickness with it.

If a ladybug has more than seven spots, then there will be a famine. If it has less than seven, then there will be a good harvest.

At one time, doctors would mash up ladybugs and put them in a cavity to cure a toothache.

Some people believe that the number of spots on a ladybug indicates how many children you will have.

If you find a ladybug in your house in the winter you will have good luck.

Anyone noticed that in the US ladybugs BITE? I would not believe it if I did not get bitten by one on a Lake Michigan beach...

In my horse trailer, I believe that if I find more dead ones in places I've already cleaned, I will go mad.





Uh, yes... I was going to mention that, but didn't want to scare off the crowd.

And when you squash them, they are smelly and make a slimy mess.

Not so cute any more, huh?

True, but if you squeeze a ladybug it will bite you, but the bite won't hurt.

source





Ladybugs make a chemical that smells and tastes terrible so that birds and other predators won't eat them.

TEAM LADYBUG!

Speaking of horse trailers, is your horse going barefoot?

Anyone got bitten by a ladybug outside of US ever? I mean they are not supposed to eat people, so I wonder if that's a subspecies or something...
Rika

I've been bitten by one and I've felt it....

http://www.gardensalive.com/article.asp?ai...hcd2=1179783002



Barefoot? Sorry?

It won't feel a bite....

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Speaking of horse trailers, is your horse going barefoot?

Anyone got bitten by a ladybug outside of US ever? I mean they are not supposed to eat people, so I wonder if that's a subspecies or something...
Rika
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Barefoot? Sorry?
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Aaah, I was referring to your horse wearing iron shoes or not. Taking my own little poll whenever I see horse people anywhere ))
Natural hoof trimming and no-shoes policy is getting bigger in the US.... not as much in France... You can find out about it if you search for Strasser's book "Shoeing: A necessary evil?"....

Rika

Off topic now.... but yes, all three of mine are barefoot.

I am, however, going to shoe the front feet of one of them this season. His hooves took a beating during show season last year and he's pretty tender-footed. Watching him walk on gravel reminds me of someone walking on hot coals! Pampered baby.

Question that has always puzzled me ........... Why are the ladybirds in the USA a dirty brown/orange colour unlike their British counterparts which are a beautiful red as seen in HA's photo. As yet haven't seen any this year in Ohio they really dont bother me as they eat other things in fact the only bug I have ever attempted to kill is the infestation of Japanese Beetles that invaded our roses last year. As a gardener I try to respect the bug hierarchy in that each is eaten by another that is hopefully doing some good.

Occasionally I see a ladybug that isn't that deep beautiful red, but 95% of the ones I see look just like the ones in my pictures. Very rarely I see one that's sort of orangey or even yellow. In Texas I saw lots of browny-orange ones and yellow ones in addition to red ones.

Found this page, explains a bit about all of the different coloured Ladybirds:

http://www.kendall-bioresearch.co.uk/lbird.htm