Ladybugs
October 24th, 2009 at 4:17 am by Bill Steffen under Bill's Blog, Weather
Have you noticed all the ladybugs? Originally from NE Asia, about 1800 of the Asian ladybugs were released near Cleveland in 1979-80. An established group of Asian ladybugs was reported in Louisiana in 1988. There were other releases from Maine to Washginton State. Now they are found throughout the Midwest, South, East and Northwest, including all 83 counties in Michigan. They have anywhere from zero to 18 spots. They eat aphids (plant lice) and other small, soft-bodied insects and sometimes will eat fruit. In Asia they hibernate in cracks in cliffs. However, we don’t have many cliffs in West Michigan. On sunny, relatively warm October days, they often come out in large numbers. You can see them on the walls (often sunny walls) and windows as they look for a place to move in and hibernate. They can live for 2-3 years, and thrive in cool, wet summers, like the one we just had.
Some also bite and can cause allergic reactions (just their presence) in some people. Me. Ick.
Whoa! I didn’t know that they bite.
Cool! We didn’t know that they live 2-3 years!
It is funny you mention ladybugs actually. My wife and I just found out we’re having a baby girl and we’re going to design her room with ladybug decorations!
I noticed a BUNCH of them on that day we neared 70F! I personally like them. They make me happy. I’ve never been bitten, ever. I find them a friendly occurrence except when they all get in the house!
I think ladybugs are pretty but annoying at the same time. I just wish they would quit getting my house. That and boxelder bugs!
Yeah, those were bad for a couple of days too. Our frogs have been out to play the last few nights as well.
They were really bad here.
I always heard the “orange” ones bite & the “red” ones don’t. Don’t know if that’s true!!!
They feel like a little pinch & leave a little red mark when they bite.
Or your entire arm swells up. LOL. But I am the exception to the rule.
I think they are annoying and smelly.
They are very annoying. How do you get rid of them?
When it starts getting cold outside, they migrate into my classroom at school. We find them along the edges of the door, and moving (slowly!) around the cracks in the keyboards!
Hey Bill I remember back in 2000 here in the U.P. it was cold in Late September/Early October with highs only in the low 40’s then all of a sudden it warmed up to 80 one day and I wont forget those things came out in waves. My Grandma had to spray her house cause her house was completely covered with those things and the inside of her house was a total disaster. They were all over. The last two years havent been bad at all though.
I read recently that the Asian species are out-competing the natives.
There are two species of bugs that look alike. One is the ladybug. These are the good ones. The other, I called manbug because it was a different ugly color, are the bad ones. The bad ones infect trees and can destroy a house if you let it. It is the Mexican bean beetle and some are the Squash beetle.
People tend to confuse the two as only the ladybug. The bad ones aren’t even related to the ladybug family. They are the really bad guys and a whole area can end up in a blight within a year. I think mother nature makes the bad guys masquerade as a ladybug so people won’t kill them. Something like the Trojan Horse of nature.
Here’s an interesting web site about the ladybug. http://www.geocities.com/sseagraves/ladybugfacts.htm. Another web site that gives you lots of info is http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef105.asp (University of Kentucky)
“In Asia they hibernate in cracks in cliffs. However, we don’t have many cliffs in West Michigan.” I work in a three story building and the north side is built with huge limestone blocks. I’ve never seen so many ladybugs congregate together.
We get the bad one’s every year. As a matter of fact I don’t see the vibrant red ones much at all around my place. They do bite (but its not that painful, a slight pinch) and they secret a smelly discharge when alarmed. Mostly they’re annoying, especially when they crawl down my back and my whole shirt stinks from ladybug discharge. Yuck.
In our old home, we were invaded, mostly on the south side of the house where it was warm (and my kitchen). These are not the nice ladybugs. I kept my vacuum sitting there for about a month one fall and whenever I saw some, I vacuumed them. If there was one or two, I would open an envelope underneath them and push them off into the open pocket and then dump down the drain with hot water. In order to keep them from moving into your walls, you must do this viligiantly. After that fall, I only had a few “invaders” as I was able to keep them from moving in. It’s a pain but it is worth all the effort.
I beg to differ with you about your blog that said “about 1800 of the Asian ladybugs were released near Cleveland in 1979-80.” I grew up in north-eastern Ohio and I remember seeing ladybugs when I was a child in the 1950’s. If you meant to say “1879-80,” I could believe that, but NOT 1979-80.
They most certainly do bite and leave a mark. They fly around the overhead lights, lamps, TV. Anywhere warm. They crawl around the windows, get under the siding and somehow find their way into the basement. I don’t know which is worse, lady bugs or aphids. UGH! I vacuum them up and then take the vacuum outdoors to remove the bag. They die out if they are outdoors, so if there a just a few, I merely capture them in a container and throw them outdoors. They’re dead before they hit the snow. Hate ‘em!!!
There have always been native ladybugs here in Michigan and in Ohio. I’m not talking about them. I’m talking specifically about the Asian ladybugs, which are the ones you see on dry, relatively warm days in October.