EV wrote:
" wrote:


EV in :


Their children and grandchildren have been controlling the aphids, not
just on the fruit trees and the roses, but in most of the garden as
well.

yes, keep them hungry and they'll eat anything.
but keep them away from those cherries when close to rpiening, or they'll
leave you none.

:-)


Lady beetles are carnivorous. They prefer soft bodied insects such as
aphids, but will also eat other bugs, including their own kind. I've
documented them in the larval stage cannibalizing one another. Ladybugs
don't eat fruit or vegetation of any kind ... and that's a good thing.

EV



You're describing the old European lady beetles we all know and love.
The imported Asian lady beetles certainly eat fruit. I've seen them by
the hundreds in my apples; I don't think they will attack a perfect
apple, but once yellow jackets or birds or something make a little hole
in the apple, the ladybugs go after it. They enlarge the hole, which
then attracts more ladybugs.

They are a big problem for grape growers because when they get inside
the grapes, they stink up the juice when the grapes are crushed and they
can easily ruin the wine. At least with a ladybug infested apple, you
can see them.

BTW, they also bite people.

Bob