A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2005 "Lady" Bugs

Don't know whether this is good or bad, but we have spotted ladybugs on our sycamore and river birch trees. We noticed some holes in the leaves and were wondering if they are the culprits. There were quite a few doing the mating thing so we don't know if they were eating our trees to keep up their strength or not. Any ideas out there?

Dianna

hi d.a.
as far as i know ladybugs are a GOOD THING they will eat the bad things on most plants. they may have shown up to eat the bugs that were responsible for the holes in the first place. i could be wrong, but i think thats what may have happend

Feenix is spot on!!

Ladybugs are your friend; they eat enemies.

ladybugs

leaf biting culprits...

biters

I haven't seen any other kind of bug on the trees. Let's hope that the ladybugs are cleaning up the buffet bar!

Thanks for the replies!

Dianna

Actually, some species of lady bugs are a pest and will eat the leaves of plants. Gotta know your lady bugs i'm afraid. In Oz we have one called the 28 spotted lady bug which attacks veges especially cucurbits like cucumber. The link below has photos of some of the different ladybugs in Kentucky but you may need to research your own area more thouroughly.

http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/Entomology/entfacts/fldcrops/ef105.htm

I guess I will get out there and introduce myself this evening then, so I can get to know them!

Thanks for the link, Longy. Maybe I will be able to see if the kind I have like other bugs or leaves. (I had never seen a blue lady bug until I checked the link out. How odd looking.)

Dianna

Yeah, watch out for the non-native "ladybugs".

I never knew if they were related or not, but the asian kind described as "orangish" "may-or-may not have spots", are biters. those are the ones that come in thru A/C units, etc. Last year while painting the house, I found out that they BITE people.

I do not like those foreign "ladybugs".

That bug is no lady.

Went out last evening to check on the trees and did not see even one bug. Not a one! There were at least a hundred on the trees the night before, so they must have gotten their fill to eat of whatever they were eating and moved on.

Rugby, I would have to agree that any lady bug that bites me would not deserve to be called a lady! Might be called a few other choice names, though!

Dianna