Ladybug in the country: description, life cycle, species, what is useful, how to attract, what plants to plant, what to feed

Almost everyone knows what a ladybug looks like. But where and how she lives and what she eats, few know.

In different peoples, the insect is called differently: the ladybug of the Virgin Mary, the bug of St. Anthony, the Sun. The Russian word for God means harmless. A cow, according to one version, is called her because of the milky poisonous liquid secreted to scare away predators in danger.

How to attract ladybugs to the site

Almost everyone knows what a ladybug looks like. But where and how she lives and what she eats, few know.

Protection from other animals

Young red ladybirds have a noticeable coloration that scares away predators. It gradually fades. The warning coloration of beetles is a classic example of mimicry in the animal kingdom. The rich yellow, red, blue, brown colors of various insect species signal danger to predators.

At the time of the attack of birds and other animals, insects secrete a yellow poisonous liquid (it has a very pungent odor). Thus, beetles scare off their enemies: spiders and frogs that hunt ladybirds.

We suggest that you familiarize yourself with: Nits: a dream book, why nits dream

Description and photo

A small winged insect with black dots on scarlet wings, a body of 4-10 mm and large eyes, is completely harmless. Even young children understand that a bug cannot be offended, because it is useful. Animals do not touch him either.

The larvae are not very attractive due to the black elongated body with a tail and orange dots on the back. Due to their unpleasant appearance and similarity with crawling pests, they are, unknowingly, often exterminated.

This is what the larva looks like (left)

Only one enemy, despite the frightening coloration and poisonous hemolymph of an adult, can paralyze and even destroy it. This is a dinocampus parasitic insect that lays eggs inside an adult, and the hatched larvae kill it from the inside.

What do they eat

The benefits of ladybugs in the garden and in the garden are due to the way they are fed. The health of the garden depends on their appetite. The insect itself destroys about 100 aphids per day, its larva - up to 50 individuals. If several dozen insects have taken root nearby, they will completely clear the garden of aphids.

Therefore, in some countries, they are specially bred for pest control, scattering over agricultural land using aircraft.

Representatives of most species belong to predatory insects, they:

eat ticks;
feed on small caterpillars;
with pleasure they eat eggs and larvae of butterflies;
in the absence of food, they do not disdain eggs of Colorado beetles.

Representatives of some species eat a vegetarian diet, consuming only one vegetation: pollen, flowers, leaves and fruits of plants, as well as mycelium of fungi.

They damage plantings and crops.

The life span of these small beetles depends on nutrition. They have it already short: even with good nutrition, the individual lives for about a year.If there is not enough feed, then it is shortened by several months.

Red Book

The ladybug has long been listed in the Red Book not only of Russia, but of the whole world. The number of individuals sharply decreased due to the massive destruction of aphids, which led to the disappearance of the main food source of this insect.

This beetle is one of the oldest insects on earth. The "law" protects it from extermination, as this insect is extremely useful in agriculture.

Life expectancy in the wild is from 2 to 3 years.
In an adult, the spots on the flaps are lighter.
The larvae have a fairly rapid growth.
In especially dangerous cases, it can pretend to be dead.
They can live in rooms next to a person.
Gardeners can purchase ladybug eggs to place them in their summer cottage.
It is generally accepted that they bring great luck.

They can have a strong toxic effect on animals with the help of hemolymph.
The ladybug is used in jewelry making.
The larvae can eat their congeners.
Some cultures strictly prohibit the killing of ladybugs, as this can bring disaster.
Throughout life, it can eat about 5,000 aphids.
During the flight, there are 85 flaps of the wings per second.

The ladybug is of great benefit to both humans and nature as a whole. A decrease in the number of individuals leads to a deterioration in the condition of not only plants, but also nature as a whole.

A person is obliged to be more attentive to this little creature, since even this almost imperceptible creature is able to maintain a natural balance.

For people, this tiny creature is completely harmless, and in relation to them it shows only gullibility and peacefulness. Therefore, you can easily put him on your hand and tell him about your hopes and desires.

And our ancestors believed that, having listened to them, it flies straight to Heaven, where it tells the patrons of the human race about everything, conveying all human requests and messages.

It seems that the spotted color of this insect from ancient times reminded the inhabitants of Russia of wonderful domestic animals, whose milk at all times was nutritious and tasty. And it is for this reason that such a creature was named - ladybug

... By the way, it is also capable of producing milk, although it is far from being so healthy and snow-white. But more on that later.

The family of these tiny representatives of the animal world bears the same name with them and are ranked by biologists as a coleoptera. The sizes of its members vary from 4 mm, reaching a centimeter size.

The body shape of such creatures when viewed from above is oval, but elongated only slightly, described by smooth lines, almost round. From the sides it is a slide, from below it is flat, on six thin legs, consisting of segments. The body of some species is covered with barely noticeable hairs.

Ladybugs have a very short head. It attaches motionlessly to another area - the prothorax. The main part of the body is divided into three components: the elytra with the wings folded under them; the other two are the abdomen, formed from six segments, and the tarsi.

The eyes of these creatures are large enough. And the antennae, like many other parts of the body of these insects, built from a number of segments, are distinguished by considerable flexibility.

Ladybug beetle or insect

? With full right it can be considered both to those and to others. And this is natural, because beetles (coleoptera) are the most numerous order in terms of the number of species, classified as insects.

With the exception of the coldest terrestrial zones, these representatives of the animal world live everywhere, that is, members of this family can be found in almost any corner of our grandiose planet.

Where beetles can live on the site

Ladybugs can be found anywhere in the world except Antarctica.They are individualists, they live separately. Only during the mating season do they gather in large groups or for joint wintering.

Some species live near plants occupied by aphids, others - in sedge, located near the water. There are also those who like the forbs of the field or meadow grass.

Sometimes gardeners build beautiful houses for them, similar to birdhouses. But ladybugs do not want to live in such "apartments" - in the summer they do not need houses, except to lure them there with tasty baits.

With the onset of cold weather, heat-loving bugs unite in huge groups and fly away to warmer regions. But some couch potatoes remain. They need to hide from the winter cold, they cannot do without shelter. Having strayed into a huge mass of thousands or millions of individuals, they wait out the cold. They are looking for shelters located near the ground, which, covered with snow, will protect insects from freezing.

The wintering place for small beetles can also be foliage gathered in heaps, breakdowns of stones, tree bark, shavings, sawdust and boards.

Lifestyle and habitat

Of course, such creatures can fly, this is even said in children's counting rhymes. And they have two pairs of wings. True, only the rear ones are adapted for air movement, and the front ones in the course of evolution turned into rigid protective elytra.

Nature has reliably protected it from the encroachments of ill-wishers insect

.
ladybug
so bright that it can scare away predators. But it is not only too noticeable coloring that plays a role here.

A special natural liquid released by such insects in anticipation of danger becomes a good protection against potential attackers. It is customary to call it cow's milk.

In case of danger, the ladybug releases a specific liquid

It has an unpleasant odor, is poisonous, has a yellow tint, and it contains cantharidin. Such milk scares away all insidious predators, even formidable ones. And almost no one in nature dares to touch a harmless ladybug.

The habitat of ladybirds depends on their species. Some of them have perfectly adapted to live in meadows near rivers and streams; others can only exist in trees. There are known varieties that inhabit only certain types of flora, for example, aquatic plants, reeds, sedges, field grasses; some seek out aphids because they feed on them.

However, ladybugs of any kind are not social and prefer, for the most part, an existence that is separate from their relatives. But at certain times, they break this rule. For example, during the breeding season or when they gather together for winter flights in an area of the planet where there is no cold.

In general, different types of ladybugs spend the cold season in their own way. Those who have adapted to life in temperate areas and are sedentary usually choose comfortable shelters from the winds and frosts: terraces, garages, sheds, houses.

Sometimes, in search of refuge, they unite into groups, even large communities, the number of individuals in which is estimated at tens of millions. In winter, they can hide in heaps of foliage, bark, and rocky debris.

How to attract bugs: 10 ways to do it effectively

Insecticides are often used to control aphids, but mass treatment with chemicals destroys not only rapidly multiplying pests, but also beneficial beetles and insects. An alternative move is to lure more ladybirds in one of the following ways:

The ladybug has good energy, it is not for nothing that the signs associated with it have been preserved. For example, if an insect settles on an arm or hair, it cannot be driven away so as not to frighten off luck. If it flew into the house, it means that harmony, peace and tranquility will settle there.

However, scientists still have a lot to investigate and unravel in the behavior of the bug.

What to feed

fresh fruits and candied fruits dried fruits sugar jam honey

You do not need to leave a large amount of food, but the water should be constant, for this, pour a few drops into the bottle cap or wet a cotton pad.

Although this insect can live in captivity, it is still not worth taking away from him the right to freedom, it is designed to bring benefits to humans, so be it.

Instructions

Set up a box or terrarium to house the ladybug. Place a layer of shredded paper at the bottom of the box or terrarium. Add folded pieces of cardboard so that she crawls over them.

Spread foliage around the perimeter.

Dampen a folded paper towel and place in the ladybug house. A clean, dampened sponge will work as a water source for the bugs.

Feeding the ladybug. Aphids are preferred for ladybugs. If you are planning a long-term trip, you will have to find a way to provide them with aphids every day.

Insect description

Surprisingly, about 5 thousand species of these bugs. True, in the European part - only 100. Insects love warmth, therefore they are active only in warm weather, and when it is cold - they fly less and do it much slower.

It is believed that the number of black dots on the body of a ladybug indicates the age of the insect - this is not the case. Rather, from these points you can understand what species the bug belongs to.

The ladybug can be more than just red or orange. The ten-point cow has a dark brown color, the fourteen-point cow is yellow, the dotted one is completely black, and the dashed-dotted one is black with a yellow speck. There are representatives of the species, which are very easy to confuse with other beetles. Moreover, not all of them are smooth, there are even very shaggy insect species, which is unusual for us.

Read also: Rabbit diseases: methods of their treatment and prevention

If you touch the ladybird, it will release a yellow substance with an unpleasant odor - this is a defensive moment that allows you to scare away creatures that are dangerous to the insect.

Types and their features

There are about 4 thousand varieties of ladybugs in nature, they are classified according to various characteristics. The most attractive are:

two-dotted, dark red beetle with two large black spots;
seven-spotted, the most widespread large insect inhabiting Europe, ranging in size from 7 to 8 mm;
twelve-point, pink or red, has 6 points on each wing;
thirteen-point red and brown beetle with 13 spots, some merge with each other;
fourteen-spotted ladybird with black or yellow dots;
seventeen-point insect of bright yellow color, small, lives in Europe;
Asian is distinguished by a large number of spots, there are 19 of them;
alfalfa ladybug - a pest of agricultural crops with 24 black spots;
a pointless ladybird is a rarity, there are no dots on the wings, the body is covered with villi.

Insect feeding

The main feature of a ladybug for every summer resident is her love for aphids. More precisely, eating this pest. It is interesting that in search of its favorite food, an insect can cover a considerable distance. Adults of these nimble bugs can eat up to 150 aphids per day.

Certain species include the following types of insects in their diet:

whitefly;
scabbards;
spider mites;
mealybugs.

There are even several species that eat fungal spores. Insects also love plant pollen and flower nectar.

Is there any harm

Although the benefits of the activity of beetles significantly exceed the harm they cause, it still exists.

Not everything that ladybugs eat is good for the plant kingdom.

Since the beetle is a predatory and carnivorous insect, in addition to aphids, it can also eat other insects useful for the garden and vegetable garden.

There are several types of ladybugs that cause significant damage to cultural plantings:

Lives in hot countries (Africa, Asia, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan). It is also ubiquitous in some European countries.

It does a lot of damage to the crop. Our climate is not suitable for melons and gourds because of the harsh winters. - is a real "scourge of God" for planting, and in the Amur Region, Khabarovsk Territory and on the Sakhalin Peninsula.

In some places, such a bug is called a potato bug. This insect not only harms crops, vegetables and, but also spreads viral plant diseases when flying from field to field. , or multicolored Asiatic - aggressive and voracious creatures, farmers in North America, Western Europe and England panic from this species of beetles. In 1988, these insects were brought to North America.

With their help, it was supposed to establish biocontrol over the immoderately spreading aphids. But this species destroys not only aphids, but also members of its own species and has become the most common species in the United States and Great Britain today. Biologists of these countries are sounding the alarm - the remaining 46 species of ladybirds, which were previously ubiquitous, have almost disappeared.

Important!
A gardener who wants to preserve the population of these elegant bugs on his territory needs to remember that any treatment of the garden will lead to the death of not only harmful insects. After treatment with pesticides, pests quickly restore their numbers, but useful beetles reproduce more slowly.

Insect life cycle

After fertilization, the adult female lays dark yellow oblong eggs. She tries to attach them to different parts of the plant, closer to the food source - and this, for example, is the same aphid. Throughout her short life, which does not last more than a year and a half, the cow manages to lay more than 1000 eggs. Then larvae hatch from them, they, in turn, turn into pupae, and already from them an adult is obtained.

The period after which an adult beetle appears from a laid egg reaches 40-60 days (in our climatic conditions).

At the onset of autumn, ladybugs seek shelter for themselves where they can calmly spend the winter. These can be stones, tree bark, heaps of leaves or needles. Often, a bug chooses a window slot or a window sill as a place for wintering. But there they almost never manage to wait for spring, they dry up.

Interesting Facts

In the wild, ladybirds can live for up to 3 years.
The length of an adult reaches 1 cm.
During the life cycle, the spots on the back of the ladybug gradually brighten.
The ladybug breathes through the holes located on the sides of her body.
In case of danger, ladybugs secrete a yellow liquid that is toxic to other insects. And if that doesn't work, the sly spotted bug may pretend to be dead and tasteless.
For a summer resident, a ladybug is one of the most welcome guests and a hardworking assistant in the garden.
Under suitable conditions, a ladybug may well live for some time in closed rooms, for example, in apartments. There she will lay up to 20 eggs and soon not only children, but also parents will be happy.

Insect benefits

The most important advantage of this bug is eating pests. This means that the plants on the site are less exposed to the negative effects of parasites.

Aphid - the favorite food of the bright bug. This pest feeds on plant juices, and also aphids carry viral diseases (so the harm of these parasites is not exaggerated). You may also be interested in an article that explains how you can get rid of aphids and why they are dangerous.
FROM scale insects, ticks and scale insects sometimes it is almost impossible for a gardener to cope, the harm from them to the crop only grows, but nothing "takes" them, and sometimes only a ladybug can help.

Therefore, it is possible and necessary to attract an insect to your site, because there are significantly fewer harmful species than useful ones.

How to attract a useful beetle to the garden

It is impossible to say for sure where the insect will want to settle. But in order for it to be on your site and to help cope with parasites that harm vegetation, you need to try to make your garden attractive for this bug. This means:

limit chemicals protection on the site or choose those from the use of which harm to the insect is minimal;
leave a small space on the sitethat does not need to be touched (mowing and raking grass, leaves);
in the city you can plant angelica, dill;
leave in some places of the site dandelions, yarrow;
buckwheat, tansy and legumes are among those plants that a ladybug can be tempted by.

Additional measures

In order for flowering plants to attract a ladybird all season, you need to start by planting those that bloom earlier. That is, buckwheat can be planted first, then dill, etc.
It is believed that the purpose of attracting a bright beetle to your site is not complete extermination of aphids, but control of the number of this pest.
There is such a thing as artificial food - this is a dry powder that can be bought by spraying the area with it, feeding insects. If there is not enough natural food for ladybirds, they can leave the territory, so sometimes you have to resort to such measures.
And some gardeners actively use baits that are designed to attract bees.

Growing at home

Not all insects in natural conditions manage to endure the cold. It's the same with bugs living in an artificial environment. Therefore, if you decide to start growing them, get pets in the spring. The chances that your insects will be healthy and viable will increase. Moreover, with the arrival of the first warm days, the activity of the beetles is still not high, they keep in groups, and it is not difficult to collect them.

A house for ladybugs can be a plastic terrarium with a lid, a plywood box with slots for air circulation, or a wooden cage with a covered top.

At the bottom of the box, you need to lay dry leaves, small branches or wood chips. In such conditions, insects will be comfortable, they can live for several months, overwinter, and in spring they can begin to mate.

In spring and autumn, boxes are filled with wet or dried raisins, pieces of cotton wool dipped in sweet water. Wet moss (sphagnum) is spread on the bottom. It is very important to comply with these requirements, since moisture is no less important for them than food, and if both are not enough, they will die.

In spring or early summer, there are few or no aphids at all, so ladybugs get all the nutrients necessary for life from cotton wool moistened with sweet water. It, together with moistened cubes of refined sugar, is laid out on the floor of the box. After waking up, moisture is vital for insects.

Therefore, every day, you need to spray water from a spray bottle in the box. Cows are given the pollen of the first flowering plants, for example, coltsfoot. Insects love to feast on the blossoming willow. A jar with such a bouquet standing in water can be installed in a box or cage. After three to four days, the bouquet will need to be replaced with a new one.

It is very difficult to feed the beetles so that they do not fly out, especially if the air temperature is high. If possible, transfer the cage to a room with a temperature no higher than 15-17C. The light should not hit the house, only then it will be difficult for the beetles to navigate - where is the path to freedom.

If the air temperature rises to 20C and higher, the beetles will begin to show increased activity, they will fly continuously, refuse to eat, and will fall. To prevent this, with the onset of hot weather, the cages are taken out to a cold place, with a temperature of no higher than 15C.It will be possible to notice how active insects will become calmer, their appetite will return to them, they will stop flying chaotically and start mating. Choose a secluded corner where partial shade will be most of the day, and place the box with the insects there.

Ladybug is the enemy of aphids (video)

Ladybugs are predators that help a person cope with pests on the site. In Russia, there are only three species of herbivorous cows that can cause serious harm to plants, the other several dozen are unconditional helpers. Therefore, attracting them to the site will help to cope not only with aphids, but also with other parasites. These bugs are very gluttonous, which plays into the hands of the gardener. And the ways of attracting are simple - you just need to provide insects with food and a favorable environment.

Interaction type

Larvae of Coccinellidae and parasite

The relationship between ladybug and aphids begins at the larval stage of Coccinellidae. The life cycle of the ladybird starts at the beginning of spring, in March-April. For three weeks, the larva abundantly feeds on aphid insects, eating about one thousand aphid insects. When the larva is sufficiently nourished and ready for the next stage of transformation, it cocoons itself into a cocoon. For a week, the larva matures in a cocoon and reaches a certain level of maturity. Only after that the ladybug beetle is born.

Why a ladybug is useful and how to attract her to the garden

The ladybug is one of the few insects that people like, especially children. Everyone probably remembers the children's song: "Ladybug, fly away to the sky ..." Once, in childhood, we caught these bugs and always let go, tossing up and singing these words.

ladybug

No wonder this epithet is God's. In almost all countries, the name of this insect is just as poetic. For example, Catholics call her ladybird, ladybug. The word Lady in this context means the Virgin Mary, that is, the ladybug is considered an insect of the Mother of God.

In France, it bears the name poulette à Dieu ("god's chicken"), in other countries its name is also associated with a pet belonging to God. This bug cannot be confused with any other: black dots on a bright red or yellow back are immediately striking. Today we will learn more about these, at first glance, familiar, but essentially little-known insects.

Read also: Bursitis in cows: what to do, how to treat

Ladybug fly away to the sky

Meet the ladybug

Ladybug takes off Almost all representatives of this group of insects are predators. Adult bugs, and especially their larvae, are distinguished by enviable gluttony and eat innumerable quantities of agricultural pests - aphids, scale insects, sawflies, leaf beetles, ticks and others, bringing undeniable benefits to humans.

Drops of caustic substance on the legs of the insect. Photo from the site

Life cycle of a ladybug

If you look closely at the plants on which aphid colonies were found, you can see yellow-orange egg clutches on the leaves, laid by a female ladybug. The life of one insect lasts about 1.5 years, and during this time one ladybird lays up to 1000 eggs. Of these, gray-brown larvae appear with orange spots on an elongated body.

Ladybug larva

When viewed up close or under magnification, they look quite ugly and look like little monsters. Unknowingly, people mistake them for harmful insects and can destroy them.

While developing, the larvae begin to intensively feed on aphids, grow and pupate. Ladybug pupae, resembling Colorado beetles, after a certain time turn into an adult insect. The whole process of their development in the climate of Russia takes 40-60 days. With the onset of cold weather, adult insects take refuge under the bark of trees, in heaps of fallen autumn leaves for the winter.

Social structure and reproduction

Photo: Ladybugs

All ladybugs are loners.Only during the mating season, males look for a female for mating by a specific smell. This usually occurs in early spring, and soon the female lays eggs in an amount of up to 400 pieces on the lower surface of the leaves. They have an oval shape, can be yellow, orange. The female chooses a place for laying closer to the aphid colony so that the offspring can be supplied with food. This is the only manifestation of caring for their offspring. Most often, after that, she herself dies.

After a couple of weeks, the larvae appear. Their body is covered with hairs and has a variegated color, the pattern combines yellow and brown spots. In the first days, the larvae eat the remaining shell of eggs and unfertilized eggs, then they go in search of aphids. The stage lasts from 4 to 7 weeks, after which the pupa is formed, which then attaches to the edge of the leaflet, where its further transformation takes place.

At its end, after 8-10 days from the pupa, the skin peels off with a stocking to the end of the abdomen. A full-fledged individual ladybug appears, which gradually acquires its usual bright color. At first, her elytra are pale in color; by this feature, one can easily distinguish an adult from a young. Young bugs are ready for procreation by 3 months of life, some only by 6 months - it all depends on the quality of nutrition of environmental conditions.

Varieties of ladybugs

Despite the fact that there are more than 4000 species of ladybugs, we may not meet so many. Consider the most common and interesting varieties of these insects.

Ladybug seven-point

The most common species is the seven-spotted ladybug (Coccinella septempunctata), a bug up to 7 mm in length. It cannot be confused with others, thanks to the red elytra with 7 black dots.

Ladybug rhodolia

The ladybug Rhodolia (Rodolia cardinalis) is a red beetle with a black pattern of elytra. Known for helping to save plantations of orange and tangerine trees in many countries - in America, France, Algeria, Japan and Russia.

Rodolia. Photo from the site

The citrus orchards were attacked by the Australian fluted worm and were on the verge of destruction. Rodolia was brought in and released into the trees. Females of this species lay up to 800 eggs per insect laying. The hatched larvae first eat all the eggs, and then they are taken for adult pests.

Ladybug two-point

The two-spotted ladybird (Adalia bipunctata) lives in the Northern Hemisphere. An adult insect up to 5 mm long, has one black spot on the red elytra. Despite its slowness, it destroys aphid colonies and brings tangible benefits.

The two-spot ladybug lays eggs. Photo from the website eco-mir.org

Ladybug seventeen-point

The seventeen-point ladybird (Tytthaspis sedecimpunctata) is a medium-sized bug (2.5-3.5 mm in length) of a spherical shape. The back color is often bright yellow, sometimes darker, with 17 black dots. It inhabits mainly in European countries, where it is found on sandy shoals near rivers, in meadows and highways. It feeds mainly on aphids.

Ladybug seventeen-point. Photo from the site freenatureimages.eu

Ladybug ocellated

The ocellated ladybird (Anatis ocellata) is large, the body length reaches 10 mm. On the red back there are black dots surrounded by a yellow rim. The head and the front of the back are black with small yellow spots.

Ladybug is ocellated. Photo from the site

Variety of species

To date, science knows more than four thousand varieties of these insects. They live in almost all corners of our planet. Many of them have a spherical body, covered with orange, yellow or red elytra, decorated with stripes or dots. Contrary to popular belief, the number of the latter does not at all indicate the age of the bug.For those who want to understand how the ladybug reproduces, it will also be interesting to know that the color of insects does not depend on the number of years lived - it is predetermined at the genetic level and remains unchanged throughout the beetle's short life. By the way, the size of an insect is also not an indicator of age. The value does not mean that the ladybug is older, it means that the larva was starving and did not develop properly.

Despite the huge variety of existing species, in our country only one of them is most common - this is a seven-spotted ladybird, which can be recognized by red elytra. Each of them has three black spots, and one common spot is located on the scutellum (pronotum).

Ladybug on the site

How to attract this useful and cute little insect to your garden? If you use any pesticides on your site, you will have to completely abandon their use. No chemistry! Ladybugs are very sensitive and will not want to live in such an atmosphere.

ladybugs

Letting ladybugs out into the garden is better when there is dew

It is better to let ladybugs out into the garden in the morning or late evening, when it is cool outside and there is dew. If there is no dew, then you should spray the plants with water on which you will place your useful bugs. Dear readers, share in the comments if there are ladybugs on your site. What are you doing to attract beneficial insects to your garden?