Beneficial Bugs: The Lady Bug

There are many different critters and creepy crawlers that you’ll find in your garden.  What most folks don’t realize is that a lot of them are good guys! Now, I’m not asking you to cuddle up to some freaky spider or to think scorpions are cute; the critter we’re talking about today is much easier to love- the ladybug! It’s also known as a ladybird or lady beetle. There are hundreds of varieties of ladybugs and they range from the red and shiny ones that you know and love to plain brown guys that you’d never label as a ladybug. Nearly all of the ladybug species are considered to be ‘beneficial insects’.

     Ladybugs are considered beneficial insects because they eat the bad guys! They eat aphids, mites, and scale insects- all of which are harmful to our gardens and crops. In fact an Asian ladybug was imported for its voracious appetite for scale insects- it saved the pecan crop from cottony cushion scale! One drawback of these imported ladybugs is that they’ve taken over food resources from the native ladybug species. Native lady bugs are severely outnumbered by Asian and European ladybugs to the point that conservationists fear for the survival of several species of ladybugs. Now don’t hate the intruders; they’re still doing a good job eating bad bugs.

     Ladybugs especially like aphids and they eat them in every stage of their development, the photo of the ugly bug (left) is actually a larval lady bug. I know you’ve seen this guy and said “Ew! Look at that weird bug”! Well, don’t squish him ‘cause he’s one of the good guys!! Don’t let your gut reaction be killing every bug you come across, by spray or by shoe (exceptions being roaches, ticks, and mosquitoes, of course).

     If you’re spraying for insects in your garden you may want to think twice. Nearly any pesticide you spray is going to kill ALL bugs. This includes all the good guys; ladybugs are especially sensitive to pesticides. If you leave them to it, your ladybugs and other good guys will probably keep your pest populations under control. Now you’re wondering how to get the good guys back into your yard after you’ve been annihilating every insect or arachnid you saw for the past who-knows-how long. Well, it’s going to take a couple of years for the ecosystem to regain its balance in your garden and unfortunately the bad guys will reestablish first. There is something you can do however: you can buy ladybugs online. What??! I know! How cool is that? You can just buy a bag (they’re usually shipped as larvae but you can buy adults, too) and release them into your yard! If you do go this route try and find a vendor who sells the native species: we may as well go the extra mile since we’re already being environmentally-minded here.

In conclusion: don’t kill ladybugs! Instead of using a chemical spray, use beneficial insects to control your pest insect populations. And lastly, if you purchase them try to find a native species.

Jessica Logan GCLP, Horticulture Technician, Chattahoochee Technical College