Ladybugs Are One Of The Best Pest Killers in Our Gardens
Details to Understand
35,000 Ladybugs treat up to 1/2 acre. Larger amounts are just overkill in the home garden.
Preferred food:
The most common of all beneficial insects, these voracious predators feed on aphids, chinch bugs, asparagus beetle larvae, thrips, alfalfa weevils, bean thrips, grape root worms, Colorado potato beetle larvae, whitefly, and mites, as well as many other soft-bodied insects and eggs. Extremely cost effective, too!
Method of shipment, biology and release rates:
Ladybugs are shipped to you in the adult stage.
Each adult consumes about 5,000 aphids. Within 8 to 10 days of release, each
female ladybug lays 10-50 eggs daily on the underside of leaves. In 2-5
days the larvae emerge as dark alligator-like flightless creatures with
orange spots. The larvae eat 50-60 aphids per day. After 21 days they pupate and adults emerge in 2-5 days, completing the cycle.
Under ideal conditions (temperature 61-82 degrees F; ladybugs won’t fly when 55 degrees F or lower) several generations may be produced.
Once they eat all the available food in your garden, many of the adults will fly away in search of other food. The remaining ladybugs will control existing populations nicely.
You can see a picture of a ladybug larva here Scroll down and read the names of the insects in (ladybug larva) in parenthesis. :-)
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