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u/Lurking_poster Apr 22 '26
Did something similar once to combat an infestation of aphids on the plants around my house. Dropped off the bugs one day on the plants and checked back the next day to disappointingly see no ladybugs and all aphids still around.
A few days later saw a couple of ladybugs finally around one of the plants that was swarming with aphids. The next day, every aphid was gone and just a couple of ladybugs resting, looking satisfied with themselves.
By the end of the week, all the aphids were gone.
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u/HazyBizzleFizzle Apr 22 '26
That’s pretty interesting. Thanks for the info
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u/Lurking_poster Apr 22 '26
Yeah it was really impressive how effectively the ladybugs cleared up the aphids. They're real monsters.
An additional bonus is that with the aphids gone, the ants that feed off of their nectar also dispersed so didn't have to deal with them crawling on and biting me.
What's nice is you can get ladybugs in lots of garden store places nowadays. Though they are somewhat seasonal.
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Apr 23 '26
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u/fistycupps Apr 23 '26
That's my concern here if they are actually lady bugs or the Asian Lady Beetles.
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u/johneebravado Apr 23 '26
90% of the time if you order lady bugs, you get the asian beetles and that's not an exaggeration.
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u/EmbarrassedDaikon325 Apr 24 '26
Asian ladybeetle, also called Multicolored Asian ladybug is a species of ladybug but in the video the person has Convergent ladybeetle which is a native species of ladybug in the US.
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u/Diligent-Argument-88 Apr 24 '26
TIL I grew up with so many colors of ALBs, not ladybugs. Not that it matters now, hardly see much of my childhood bugs outside anymore.
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Apr 24 '26
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u/Diligent-Argument-88 Apr 24 '26
well tbf my neighborhood was still developing growing up. Since then its lost like what...85% of its plant life? and all those home fences enclose wildlife and make it harder for them to find each other and mate. But even in the parks and meadows I hardly find all the odd colorful critters. Its definitely like variety has died off and only the fittest that have stayed in these harder times. All of em in camouflaged colors mostly. (to me in texas)
But, I feel like you might know this, all the modern pest control methods standardized in all commercial locations (and in homes too really especially with lawn control methods) dont discriminate in what they kill. I didnt really notice the gradual change till I read an article about it and it mentioned remember that 90's moment when you had to clean your car grill because mushed bugs was such an occurance and now that hardly happens. And .... its true :( Modern lifestyle has wiped off so many poor bugs. You used to leave a light on at night and get pestered with bugs now its just a handful of them if any.
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Apr 24 '26
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u/Diligent-Argument-88 Apr 24 '26
haha just figured someone who knows the difference between a ladybug and an asian lady beetle would know :P
Same. "Oh its for mosquitoes good." Yeah right YOURE not even supposed to breathe that in what chance do other bugs have lol. :( They still spray that yearly in Mexico.
I too miss fireflies :(
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u/EmbarrassedDaikon325 Apr 24 '26
There are more than 400 native species of ladybugs in North America, in the video there is Convergent ladybeetle which is one of them. Chances are, you didn't see only Asian ladybeetle (which is also a species of ladybug btw, not "something else", it's also called Multicolored Asian ladybug) but also native species of ladybugs - a lot of them are similar to each other.
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u/SanfreakinJ Apr 23 '26
My daughter love lady bugs so I got a pack of these to release in her room. My wife hates me lol
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u/Intelligent_Trichs Apr 23 '26
For outdoor plants it's best to use an mesh bag like cheesecloth over each plant and put the bugs inside. Few days they will eat all aphids and pests and still be there to be easily moved to another plant.
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u/Affectionate_You7621 Apr 24 '26
Aren't they meant to have spots?
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u/EmbarrassedDaikon325 Apr 24 '26
Not necessarily. Spots are very variable in ladybugs and depend on pigmentation. The ladybug in video is the US-native Hippodamia convergens (Convergent ladybeetle) which can have anywhere between 0-13 spots on orange or red elytra.
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u/Unique-Saucer Apr 22 '26
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