Ladybugs aren’t true bugs at all, they’re beetles. There are almost 400 different kinds of ladybugs in North America. Female ladybugs can eat as many as 75 aphids in one day, they also like to eat scale, mealybugs and spider mites. Ladybugs smell with their feet and antennae. A ladybug’s jaws chew from side to side instead of up and down like our jaws. The color of a ladybug’s spots begin to fade as it gets older. Ladybugs are most active when their body temperature is 75 degrees or warmer. A ladybug’s bright color warns birds that it does not taste good. When a ladybug flies, its wings beat 85 times every second. Female ladybugs are larger than male ladybugs. Aphids are the first pest to hit in the spring, and they love the new growth on plants. Buy your ladybugs now and keep them dormant in the refrigerator till your first outbreak of aphids, then release a few hundred at a time, preferably after sundown.
-DeAnna
Joan Gonzalez says
Purchased 1500 Lady Bugs and resently released as recommended on my Blue Bonnets with spider mite problem. After a few days, cannot find a single one. What did I do wrong? Joan Gonzalez
Elena says
Female lady bugs are larger than male lady bugs
They flap their wings 85 times per second
They chew side to side and up and down.
james gill says
Joan, you probably didn’t do anything wrong, ladybugs are just not the type to stay around for long. For best results, choose a plant full of pests for the ladybugs to eat (you did), release after sundown (more likely to spend the night, and thereby discover the pests), and squirt just a little water on the target plants, so the ladybugs can have a drink and not be so likely to fly off immediately looking for water (they wake up thirsty). Releasing ladybugs is more fun, but if you want to kill more mites, spray with soap. Even if you don’t, the plants will still bloom, but the foliage won’t be as pretty. https://www.wildflower.org/mobile/expert/show.php?id=2148