Lady bugs

[TransplantedTexan]

Look at this link.
http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/iiin/ladybeetles.html
We have loads of them here in Wisconsin.
It is not uncommon to see literaly thousands of them on the side of the house. Inside as well it is common for there to be double digit numbers of them on the wall or sealing.
They are especially fond of soybeans. I had heard this before, but didn't realize it was the aphids they were after, as noted on the page I linked.
They start coming in looking for warmth, and moisture.
These hardly bother me, it's the flies that drive me mad. I had no idea the amount of flies in this world until I moved out into farmland.

 

[jjthink]

Inside the house they can't find water and will die eventually. I tried an experiment years ago - put a little droplet of water near one and it eagerly goes to the water and drinks. So now I find myself offering them all water! And they all drink. If the weather is good I gently take them outside as I can't be a water maid all the live long day and yet it bothers me to think of them dying of thirst! (they start to lose their vibrant color and get weaker and weaker). Alternatively, if freezing out, I place them gently on a house plant that I water and they drink from the droplets on the leaves. Luckily I don't get gazillions of ladybugs in my house or I would have trouble getting anything else done with this kind of TLC!
Okay, so I'm sure this posts gets me the weirdest BYCer award, right?
JJ

 

[DuckLady]

I heard Ladybugs are great served up with frozen blueberries.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=22316

 

[MissPrissy]

I have an upstairs corner bedroom that fills up with lady bugs. From now until spring we will be sweeping them up and brushing them off the curtains.

 

[seedcorn]

what color are they?

red with black spots= lady bugs

orange w/black spots = Asian beetles; they bite, they stink and their larvae eat aphids. Huge aphid pops mean lots of these filthy stinky beetles.

 

[silkiechicken]

Quote:
Haha, thats's great. Didn't taste it though...

As for lady bugs, send some this way!! Or wait. No, there are no aphids out this time of year.

 

[Wildsky]

We have tons of them as well, at first I didn't know what the heck was going on, they were all over on our porch... then I started seeing them inside the house - very weird.

The kids love em, they're always catching them and then giggling from the tickle of the bug walking...
I had no idea they BITE!

 

[Farmer Kitty]

Quote:
We have mostly the Asian beetles around and most confuse them with lady bugs. Big difference. People are the only prediators for Asian beetles. The DNR imported them. They stink and bite.

 

[3peeps]

We've had infestations of ladybugs (the asian kind) for years now. They've been so bad that everyone I know vacuums them up. Sounds disgusting, and sort of mean but even the cutest bugs get ultra-annoying after a while. They buzz around our ceilings and light fixtures at night, bumping the glass with their hard-shelled little bodies. When one went down my pajamas one night, I lost it and declared war. Never thought something so small could make me a candidate for anger management classes.

 

[3peeps]

Quote:
We have mostly the Asian beetles around and most confuse them with lady bugs. Big difference. People are the only prediators for Asian beetles. The DNR imported them. They stink and bite.

Yes, they REEK! My german shepherd used to EAT them and then come breath on me with his stinky, nasty bug-breath.