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Monday, November 2, 2015

Ladybug, ladybug, fly away home!

Almost everybody loves ladybugs. These cute and colorful insects are a common sight in the fall, They are fun to play with, they eat aphids (a common garden pest), and of course, they’re good luck. But what isn’t commonly known is that some of the ladybugs around aren’t actually native. There are a number of native ladybug species, which tend to be more reddish than orange, but the multicolored Asian lady beetles have come from afar, and sometimes wreak a little more havoc than our native friends.
The Asian lady beetles were introduced in the U.S. in 1916 to control crop pests, and behaved for decades. However, a new strain of this ladybug was accidentally released at the Port of New Orleans in 1993, and the multicolored Asian lady beetle started creating a little mischief since.
Ladybugs, including the Asian lady beetle, are not exactly invasive or considered to be pests: they don’t carry disease, damage structures, suck blood or sting, and they eat harmful garden pests. However, they can stain surfaces and give off a foul odor when disturbed. Their populations seem to absolutely explode in some areas and they have a habit of finding small corners and getting indoors. This, more than anything else, is what upsets some people.
If managing ladybugs becomes a problem, the Adirondack Almanack suggests sealing around windows, vents and other areas prone to creating draftiness, and check for cracks or broken screens on common household entrances and vents. Ladybugs, like many others critters don’t mean any harm; they’re just gravitating towards the warmth. The Almanack also warns against squashing the beetles, as they’ll release a smelly and staining yellow defense fluid when disturbed. Just catch them as humanely as you can and release them outside.


- See more at: http://www.adirondackalmanack.com/2015/10/asian-lady-bugs-unwelcome-halloween-decorations.html#more-55792

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