A Ladybugs Life
by John Yazo
Many
people, especially children are attracted to ladybugs because of
there color and spots. They are a beneficial insect in the garden
because of there appetite for other insects such as aphids.
Beneficial
insects as
a primary form of management for pest control in the garden is utilized
by all types of growers, from the organic
gardener, greenhouse
growers to the professional gardener. It is one of the oldest
and most successful methods of pest
control.
They have a natural instinct to hunt down and consume unwanted pests in
your garden and are harmless to humans, plants, animals and the
environment.
There are about five thousand different species of ladybugs, also know as lady beetles and not all of them have the same appetite. The Mexican Bean Beetle and the Squash Beetle are a part of the ladybug family. They are plant eaters and can be destructive in the garden especially to bean plants unlike the majority of the ladybug family that will only prey on insects.
Ladybugssecrete a fluid from the joints of there legs that has a foul taste and makes them unappealing to predators. When a ladybug feels threatened it will play dead and secrete this unpleasant fluid to defend itself from predators.
A ladybugs will lay masses of tiny yellow elongated shaped eggs. They are laid on plant leaves and hatch in three to seven days. The eggs then turn into a six legged larva that eats and sheds it's skin several times as it grows. This stage lasts for to to four weeks. Once the larva reaches it's full size it will attach itself to a plant leaf or a stem by it's tail. The skin of the larva then splits exposing the pupa. The pupa at this time is about the size of an adult but is wrapped up for protection while it goes undergoes metamorphosis into the adult stage.
The life span of a ladybug is about two to three years.
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