It is well known that ladybugs are useful in the garden. After all, people are only too happy to concede this status to the likeable, cute little fellows. But what exactly makes them so helpful for hobby gardeners? Quite simply: their culinary preferences.

Ladybugs keep the garden pest-free

The subtle diversity of ladybugs

Ladybugs are a very species-rich and diverse family of beetles. Although only a small part of the 360 genera and over 6000 species worldwide are represented here, the species that live here offer a fairly wide spectrum of different appearances and ways of life.

In general, it is mainly the ladybirds of the subfamily Coccinellinae that occur in Europe. Therefore, when studying their diet, we restrict ourselves to the species associated with them. Externally, the Coccinellinae offer a fairly wide range of color appearances, whereby the pattern and the colors can be summarized as something typical of ladybirds. From the classic black dotted tomato red to red dotted black, completely spotless monochrome or black dotted yellow, everything is included.

Ladybird's Favorite Food

The feeding habits of the Coccinellinae ladybirds are similarly varied. Here, too, there are fundamental similarities, but also species-specific deviations and peculiarities. The vast majority of species prefer to eat very frequently and, above all, numerous garden pests. This includes:

  • aphids
  • scale insects
  • spider mites

With these culinary preferences, ladybugs are of course extremely welcome to every gardener, because aphids in particular are not really a dangerous yoke, but they are very annoying and, above all, can never be completely eliminated. Ladybugs can't get enough of aphids. They are undoubtedly their number one favorite food. One ladybug can eat 50 specimens of these nuisances a day and is therefore often only too happy to visit heavily infested plants.

Incidentally, the larvae of the ladybird are even more effective in killing aphids. After all, they still have to grow big and strong and therefore eat up to a pleasing 600 pieces in their 30-60 day development time until pupation. One ladybug offspring can destroy around 100,000 pests per generation. So you would do well to make the ladybugs as comfortable as possible in the garden. More on that in the last section.

In addition to the common aphids, scale insects and spider mites, there are other pests on the ladybird's menu. For example:

  • bugs
  • thrispe
  • sawfly larvae
  • beetle larvae
  • butterfly larvae (rare)

Scary cannibalism

Cannibalism actually only seems eerie in our human culture. In the animal world, however, it is quite normal. So it is also common among the so friendly ladybugs. When the larvae hatch, the motto is: first come, first served. This means that the larvae that hatched first eat the best that comes their way. And that can also be the nutritious sibling eggs right next door. As a result, a clutch can unfortunately decimate itself by about half. The larvae usually hatch at about the same time.

When there is no more meat

In times of war and famine, we humans also become creative when it comes to alternative foods. And even ladybugs sometimes have to switch to other foods when the usual food supply is scarce in some years. When aphids, scale insects and the like run out, ladybugs find a last resort in plant food. Fruit and pollen in particular then replace the otherwise protein-rich insect food with their sweet energy.

There is even a Coccinellinae species, the Bulaea lichatschovi, whose larvae are basically vegetarian, namely feeding on pollen.

Even more useful preferences

As if destroying pests wasn't enough to help the hobby gardener, some species of ladybugs also curb plant diseases through their diet. Species of the Halyziini and Psylloborini tribes conveniently feed on powdery mildew and mold, and can thereby provide relief to diseased plants. Fungal species that occur in this country are mainly the sixteen-spotted ladybird and the yellow twenty-two-spotted ladybird.

Species with harmful feeding habits

Believe it or not, there are actually ladybug species that are classified as pests because of their feeding habits. Because some species feed on plants in general, and not on pollen, but on useful and ornamental plant leaves.

The twenty-four-spot ladybird is one of the herbivore ladybirds that are relevant in this country. He has his sights set primarily on the clove family, such as soapweed and campionites, cloves, or clover, lucerne, turnips and potatoes. It only eats off the tops of the leaves, but can do more damage in the process.

How to attract ladybugs

The thing about attracting pesticides is a bit of a paradox - after all, ladybugs prefer to go where there are lots of aphids to eat. Promoting aphids, which you actually want to decimate, is a contradiction in terms. But you can solve this by reserving an extra zone in the garden for ladybugs - and aphids. By letting a back corner of your garden run wild and allowing aphids to develop freely there, you can also get enough ladybirds that, thanks to their mobility, can then also offer their usefulness to the rest of the cultivated garden.

Given the predominantly beneficial feeding habits of ladybugs, you naturally want them

Category:

Animals in the garden