# lady bugs



## lindafrog (Mar 27, 2010)

I purchased lady bugs from a reliable vendor on ebay. They arrived quickly and I 've stored them in the refri for two days until today . Vendor said I should release them on several occasions. A buffet of aphids await the ladies.Has anyone used lady bugs in their greenhouse All suggestions and advice is greatly appreciated.
thanks
Lindafrog-- in Michigan where we still have a tiny patch of snow left from snowplowing! :rollhappy:


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## likespaphs (Mar 27, 2010)

okay, the best times of day to release them are sunrise-ish and sunset-ish. mist the foliage before releasing them. release them near the pests. they are very flighty and most will fly away.
do you know how to identify a baby ladybug or ladybug eggs so that you don't accidentally kill something beneficial?


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## lindafrog (Mar 27, 2010)

thanks for the advice. I've released a quarter of the shipment. I was surprised at the unpleasant smell of the bugs. There are many dead bugs but the supplier shipped extra for this reason. I will time the next release for sunset or sunrise. Do they need anysort of food while semi dormant in the refri? 
I've heard the larva look like baby alligators and the eggs are tiny yellow. Do you have pictures?


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## Yoyo_Jo (Mar 27, 2010)

I took pictures of a young 'un last year trucking by one of my morning glories...


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## likespaphs (Mar 28, 2010)

another larva: http://www.slippertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=120&highlight=ladybug+larvae
the color of the spots is the dominant color of the adult, i think

they are stinky. i think i read they release the smell from their knees to deter predators.

although they are cheap, there are much more effective predators/parasitoids (like a parasite but parasites don't kill their hosts, parasitoids do) out there. lots of good info here: www.greenmethods.com


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## NYEric (Mar 29, 2010)

I was just thinking of buying some ladybugs for my dad. What's a good source?


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## likespaphs (Mar 29, 2010)

ladybugs aren't great for pest control. what sort of pest does he want to control?
i really like greenmethods.com


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## NYEric (Mar 29, 2010)

thanx i'll check. My dad has his garden in South Carolina I'm sure the ladybugs would find something to eat. I don't like it there because of the black widows, etc...


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## lindafrog (Mar 29, 2010)

update I released the second group this morning. Same thing-- most were DOA when I opened the container. I've seen less than 10 active lady bugs. One somehow found its way up my sweat pants-- eeh. The rest are working aphids on cymbidium blooms . This is an experiment I've always wanted to try but I do not think it is the best way to control aphids!
lindafrog- in sunny 39 degree Michigan, where the shade cloth is going over half the greenhouse today-- to protect dracula, restrepia and masdevallia. Cymbs and the rest still get full sun...


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## likespaphs (Mar 29, 2010)

this link takes you to the greenmethods page on aphids and is an introduction to better forms of aphid control
http://greenmethods.com/site/pests/aphids/
the mini wasps are *very *effective, just remember to match the correct parasitoid with the aphid.


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## lindafrog (Mar 29, 2010)

thanks for the link to greenmethods. Looks like a great source!


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## Eric Muehlbauer (Mar 30, 2010)

I've never found ladybugs effective. Not just because they fly away, but every plant with aphids also has loads of ants "farming" them...and they chase the ladybugs away.


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## lienluu (Mar 30, 2010)

I tried this last year, i called them up and got their recommendation on what to use for mealy bugs. I didn't have too many but there were some here and there. They shipped me three shipments of bugs to use over the course of a couple of months.

each time i'd release the buggers at the recommended time. The next day i'd see a few here and there but after 2-3 days, there were none left in sight. At the end of the recommended 3 course treatment, the buggers were nowhere to be seen but the mealys were still present. I thought my greenhouse was pretty enclosed, but the things found a way out very quickly.





likespaphs said:


> another larva: http://www.slippertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=120&highlight=ladybug+larvae
> the color of the spots is the dominant color of the adult, i think
> 
> they are stinky. i think i read they release the smell from their knees to deter predators.
> ...


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## likespaphs (Apr 2, 2010)

hmmm. i wonder what the bugs were.


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## lienluu (Apr 3, 2010)

They sent me _Cryptolaemus montrouzieri_

http://greenmethods.com/site/biocontrols/cryptolaemus/


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## etex (Apr 3, 2010)

I found the greenmethods.com site very useful!


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## likespaphs (Apr 3, 2010)

rothschildianum said:


> They sent me _Cryptolaemus montrouzieri_
> 
> http://greenmethods.com/site/biocontrols/cryptolaemus/




right, Crypts.
they are good to get them on the run, but they're so flighty, you kinda have to finish up with lacewing larva....
if you have citrus mealybugs, you have to put out little pea-sized balls of synthetic batting or organic cotton so the Crypts think they're laying their eggs in citrus mealybug egg sacs....


ipm labs also has good info.... http://www.ipmlabs.com/


to me, after the quality of the insects provided, distance is important in choosing a beneficial insect distributor as shipping (often, overnight is needed) can be very expensive


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## lienluu (Apr 3, 2010)

Thanks. I just went with their recommendations. They said the crypts would do the trick. They're not citrus mealys, they have cottony coverings on them. Gives me the creeps every time i see them... I think the cottony coverings makes then look much more terrifying. 

Maybe I will give it another try, the other day I noticed a plant that had mealys. There aren't a lot but here and there I can see a few. Wish they would just go away. 

I had them overnight-ed when I did the 3 course treatment last year. It wasn't so much a problem that they died in transit but more that they escaped within a day. Actually, for the most part, I found them trapped between the two layers of the polycarbonate (which until I saw that, i thought the polycarbonate was capped, but I guess portions of it weren't capped when the contractors put it on).




likespaphs said:


> right, Crypts.
> they are good to get them on the run, but they're so flighty, you kinda have to finish up with lacewing larva....
> if you have citrus mealybugs, you have to put out little pea-sized balls of synthetic batting or organic cotton so the Crypts think they're laying their eggs in citrus mealybug egg sacs....
> 
> ...


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## likespaphs (Apr 3, 2010)

yup, ladybug beetles attracted to light which is one of the reasons they're so flighty

lacewing larva are very effective but can bite
they do turn into lacewing adults but they are only active at night and don't eat anything other than a little pollen, i think.....

i may be confused on how you described it, but the citrus mealybugs make cottony sacs which is where they lay their eggs. i typically don't have a problem with these on Paphs but do on other orchids (photos and whatnot from u.c. davis http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/r107300511.html)

long-tailed mealies do not make the cottony sacs and have, you guessed it, longer tails! (u.c. davis photo of long-tailed http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/P/I-HO-PLON-AD.001.html)


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## lindafrog (Apr 17, 2010)

Update-- its been two weeks since the last lady bug release. I must deem the experiement a complete failure. Not a lady bug in sight but aphids are still around. The worst part is I did not spray for aphids so the lady bugs could take over. I would NOT recomdend trying lady bugs for aphid control in a greenhouse. I do not regret giving it a try. Being an earth mother I've always wanted to see if lady bugs would do good and now I know. Its all part of the fun of gardening, experimenting and learning stuff. I am back using my Dr. Bronners peppermint soap spray and those aphids are doomed! 
Lindafrog in Michigan, where the cherry blossoms are out - three weeks early!


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## likespaphs (Apr 17, 2010)

right. lady bugs are not effective.

if you can identify the aphids and get parasitic wasps (actually, parasitoids=like parasites but parasites don't kill their hosts. parasitoids do....)


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