Always, they are actually beetles! (Coccinellidae) A minor distinction, I know, but an entirely different order of insect. Bugs have mouth-parts made to suck, and feed on fluids, beetles have biting mouth-parts, and tear their food. The ladybug's proper name is actually the Ladybird Beetle.
And they are not all ladies, either! Both males and females look and behave alike, and they are voracious eaters of that most noxious of pests, Aphids! Reports of just how many aphids an adult ladybug will eat vary widely, from 34 to 1000 per day, and the larvae eat aphids too! Also on the menu are scale, thrips, mites, whiteflies, mealybugs, and the occasional caterpillar.
If you wish to encourage them in your garden, never use pesticides, especially aphid spray, on your plants. They love wildflowers - the most popular ones being any type of mustard plant, as well as other early blooming nectar and pollen sources, like buckwheat, coriander, red or crimson clover, and legumes like vetches, and also early aphid sources, such as bronze fennel, dill, coriander, caraway, angelica, tansy and yarrow, of the wild carrot family. Other plants that also attract ladybugs include coreopsis, cosmos (especially the white ones), dandelions and scented geraniums.
If you don't have any naturally, but have plenty of aphids to feed them, they can be easily ordered online for around $10.00 per 1,500 beetles. 1,500 is about the right number for a backyard or medium-size greenhouse.
They come in several colors, red, orange, yellow, pink and white, and while most are spotted in various patterns, some have no spots. There are 5,000 different species of ladybugs, and most can be identified first by color combination, and secondly by the number of spots. Certain species can live up to 2 years, and the spots fade with age, although most live only a few weeks.
Easily identified is the Asian Ladybug, which was introduced to the US, and is flourishing here, sometimes displacing our native populations. They have a very prominent 'M' shape right behind their head.
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| The Asian Ladybug |
Many cultures consider Coccinellids lucky and have nursery rhymes or local names for the insects that reflect this. For instance, the Turkish name for the insect is "uğur böceği", literally meaning luck bug. In many countries, including Russia, Turkey, and Italy, the sight of a ladybug is either a call to make a wish, or a sign that a wish will soon be granted.
Legend has it that in Europe, during the Middle Ages, insects were destroying the crops, so the Catholic farmers prayed to the Virgin Mary for help. The ladybugs came, ate the plant-destroying pests and saved the crops. The farmers began calling the ladybugs "The Beetles of Our Lady", and they eventually became known as "Lady Beetles". The red wings represented the Virgin's cloak, and the black spots represented her joys and sorrows.
Partially excerpted, by permission, from 'This Lady's No Bug", by David Mizejewski. Gardening-How-To, NHGC, Jan./Feb.2011. Thanks also to Wikipedia, and The LadyBug Lady for information.
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| A neat color combination |
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| The larval stage |
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