Posts Tagged: lady beetles

Who Doesn't Love a Ladybug?

Who doesn't love a ladybug? Call them ladybugs, call them ladybirds, call them lady beetles, call them Coccinellidae, or just call them aphid...

A lady beetle, aka ladybug, devouring aphids in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A lady beetle, aka ladybug, devouring aphids in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Elaine Lander, urban and community IPM educator with the UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program, talks to a youngster about lady beetles, aka ladybugs, at the 2019 UC Davis Picnic Day. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Elaine Lander, urban and community IPM educator with the UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program, talks to a youngster about lady beetles, aka ladybugs, at the 2019 UC Davis Picnic Day. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Karey Windbiel-Rojas, associate director for Urban and Community IPM and area Urban IPM advisor, answers a question at the 2019 UC Davis Picnic Day. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Karey Windbiel-Rojas, associate director for Urban and Community IPM and area Urban IPM advisor, answers a question at the 2019 UC Davis Picnic Day. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Spotted: A Lady Beetle in a Winter Wonderland

Spotted: A lady beetle (aka ladybug) feasting on aphids in her winter wonderland. It dines uninterrupted until it sees the shadow of what could...

A lady beetle feasting on aphids on a strawberry plant in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A lady beetle feasting on aphids on a strawberry plant in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A lady beetle peers at the photographer. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A lady beetle peers at the photographer. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

'Garden Allies': Everything in Your Garden Has a Place

Don't ask if the insects you find in your garden are "good bugs or bad bugs." Everything in your garden has a place, and your place should be a...

A lady beetle and her eggs in a Vacaville garden. Everything in nature is connected, says Frédérique Lavoipierre. If you have no aphids, no lady beetles or soldier beetles for you. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A lady beetle and her eggs in a Vacaville garden. Everything in nature is connected, says Frédérique Lavoipierre. If you have no aphids, no lady beetles or soldier beetles for you. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A soldier beetle (family Cantharida) feasts on aphids but is often mistaken as a "bad bug." This image was taken in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A soldier beetle (family Cantharida) feasts on aphids but is often mistaken as a "bad bug." This image was taken in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

All Hail the Lady Beetles!

Step right up, folks! I'm a lady beetle, aka ladybug, and it's lunch time. Or maybe it's snack time, I don't know. I don't talk when my...

A lady beetle, aka ladybug, munches on an aphid, as another aphid looks as if it's waiting its turn to be eaten. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A lady beetle, aka ladybug, munches on an aphid, as another aphid looks as if it's waiting its turn to be eaten. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The larva of a lady beetle will also eat its share of aphids. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The larva of a lady beetle will also eat its share of aphids. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Lady Beetles Know Where to Lay Their Eggs

Ladybugs--actually "lady beetles" as these insects are beetles--know exactly where to lay their cluster of eggs--where the aphids and other prey...

Good Planning: A lady beetle laid her eggs (right) next to oleander aphids (left) on a tropical milkweed plant. The lady beetle larvae will eat the aphids. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Good Planning: A lady beetle laid her eggs (right) next to oleander aphids (left) on a tropical milkweed plant. The lady beetle larvae will eat the aphids. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A lady beetle and larva. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A lady beetle and larva. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A lady beetle larva eating an aphid. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A lady beetle larva eating an aphid. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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