Aphids the meal of choice for the beloved beneficial insect
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They dropped into Club Chard for a feast: Three of about a dozen sevenspotted lady beetles (
Coccinella septempunctata
)
were dining on aphids in my community garden plot. (Photos: Kathy Morrison)
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If there were a "Trending Topics" list among gardeners right now, "Lady Beetles" (aka ladybugs) would be at the top.
The colorful and beloved insect is back in our gardens in a big way this spring, working hard for us by doing what comes naturally: Eating aphids.
Almost every conversation I've had lately with a fellow gardener has included a comment about "so many ladybugs!" It happened again Wednesday during the Open Garden at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center, as the bright little beetles were easily seen among the fronds of the white yarrow ( Achillea millefolium ) that I was trimming. Visitors to the Herb Garden area spotted lady beetles on the Scarlet Unique geranium ( Pelargonium fulgidum ) and other plants nearby. Master gardeners had also seen quite a few in the orchard trees the previous week.
So, hurray for Mother Nature's beneficial predators!
But why so many this year? Are there more aphids attracting more lady beetles? Or are the conditions just right for the beneficials this year? Or are we simply more aware of the importance of biological controls?
It might be a combination of those factors, but cold does kill aphids, and we didn't have much cold this past winter. (Temperatures above 90 degrees also kill them, which is why aphids are less of a problem here during summer.) Moderate temperatures of 65 to 80 degrees are their ideal climate. More aphids available means more food for more lady beetles, who overwinter in protected areas.
What if your garden is full of aphids but hasn't yet become a home for lady beetles? Ideally, the garden should include plants that entice beneficials with nectar and habitat, then encourage them to stick around. Yarrow is a good one for spring, along with alyssum, lobelia, thyme, cornflower, calendula, geraniums and marigolds. Here's an excellent list of plants for all beneficials .
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See that alligator-looking insect in the lower middle of the photo? That's
a lady beetle larva, aka voracious teenager. They eat even more
aphids than the adults do.
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An easy way to fight aphids is to blast them off the plant with a strong spray of water. (Tip: Hold your free hand behind tender rosebuds to avoid blasting the buds off as well.) However, some gardeners try to buy containers of lady beetles and deposit them in the garden -- and then are mad when the insects fly off. Is this a commercial scam?
Well, no, but there are better and worse ways to handle the release of lady beetles. A blog post by UCANR's Mary Louise Flint tackles this question: "University of California research has demonstrated that lady beetle releases can effectively control aphids in a limited landscape or garden area if properly handled and applied in sufficient numbers." Note the "limited" and the "if," and take a look at the full blog post to learn how it can be done.
Here's another thing about those commercial lady beetles: They're not residents of the Central Valley flatlands. As Flint notes, "Lady beetles sold at nurseries for aphid control are convergent lady beetles, named for the converging white marks on its thorax. Suppliers collect beetles from large overwintering aggregations in California's foothills and mountains. Many other species of lady beetles occur naturally in California landscapes but don't aggregate in the mountains and aren't sold commercially."
And, psst, don't buy lady beetles that haven't been refrigerated at the store. Those room-temperature insects are active and climbing all over each other, resulting in a lot of casualties.
Even under the best circumstances, expect purchased lady beetles to fly away after a few days. Their mission accomplished, they're off to find more caches of yummy aphids. Or maybe just heading home.
(For more on lady beetles, check out this detailed and illustrated page from the UC Integrated Pest Management.)
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Flowers in My Back Yard Series
July 28: Naked Ladies put on summer show
July 21: Thank Luther Burbank for these long-lasting beauties (Shasta daisies)
July 14: How to keep hydrangeas happy
July 7: Grow these bright cosmos for bees and butterflies
June 30: Agapanthus adds blue fireworks to the garden
June 23: Easy-care gazanias fill those hot corners
June 16: Daylilies are perfect for water-wise gardens (and a lot more)
June 9: Grow coneflowers for pollinators -- and yourself
June 2: Sunflowers capture Sacramento's summer attitude
May 29: Are your roses going 'blind'?
May 26: Zinnias are the summer flowers every garden needs
May 19: Plant dahlias now for late-summer flower power
May 12: Know your coreopsis from your bidens
May 5: Mums the word on Mother's Day weekend
April 28: Majestic Matilija poppy is worth a look
April 21: Celebrate roses, America's favorite flower
April 14: Small flowers with outsized impact
April 7: Calendulas do double duty
April 3: Make Easter lilies last for years to come
March 31: In praise of a pollinator magnet (small-leaf salvias)
March 24: Azaleas brighten shady spots
March 17: The perfect flower for beginners? Try zonal geraniums
March 10: Keep camellias happy for years to come
March 3: Fruit tree blossoms are a fleeting joy
Feb. 27: Are your roses looking rusty?
Feb. 24: Treasure spring daffodils now and for years to come
Feb. 17: How and why to grow wildflowers
Feb. 10: Let's talk Valentine's Day roses
Feb. 3: Why grow flowers?
Local News
Sites We Like
Garden checklist for week of Aug. 2
Get out early in the morning and monitor your garden’s moisture needs. Deep water and add temporary shade structures for plants that are feeling a little burned. In particular, protect developing peppers and eggplant.
* Put off fertilization until this heat passes; plants need to concentrate on hydration instead of growth.
* Harvest tomatoes, beans, squash, pepper and eggplants to prompt plants to keep producing. Give your plants a deep watering twice a week, more if planted in containers.
* Watch out for caterpillars and hornworms in the vegetable garden. They can strip a plant bare in one day. Pick them off plants by hand in early morning or late afternoon.
* Mulch can be your garden’s best friend – it conserves moisture while blocking out weeds. But don’t let mulch mound around stalks, stems or trunks. That can promote rot.
* Pinch off dead flowers from perennials and annuals to lengthen their summer bloom.
* Pick up after your fruit trees. Clean up debris and dropped fruit; this cuts down on insects and prevents the spread of brown rot.
* Prepare for a fall full of flowers by paying a little extra attention to your garden. Cut off spent blooms from roses, annuals and perennials. Roses will rebloom about six to eight weeks after deadheading.
* Indoors, start seedlings for fall vegetable planting, including bunching onion, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, radicchio and lettuce.
* Sow seeds of perennials in pots for fall planting including yarrow, coneflower and salvia.
* In the garden, direct seed beets, carrots, leaf lettuce and turnips. Make sure to keep seeds and seedlings consistently moist.
* Plant potatoes.
Contact Us
Send us a gardening question, a post suggestion or information about an upcoming event. sacdigsgardening@gmail.com
Food in My Back Yard (FIMBY) Series
Lessons learned during a year of edible gardening
WINTER
Is edible gardening possible indoors?
Hints for choosing tomato seeds
Why winter is the perfect time to plant fruit trees
When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants
How to squeeze more food into less space
Plant a fruit tree now -- for later
Win the weed war by tackling them in winter
Tips for planting bare-root trees, shrubs and vegetables
Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space
Ways to win the fight against weeds
FALL
Dec. 16: Add asparagus to your edible garden
Dec. 9: Soggy soil and what to do about it
Dec. 2: Plant artichokes now; enjoy for years to come
Nov. 25: It's late November, and your peach tree needs spraying
Nov. 18: What to do with all those fallen leaves?
Nov. 11: Prepare now for colder weather in the edible garden
Nov. 4: Plant a pea patch for you and your garden
Oct. 27: As citrus season begins, advice for backyard growers
Oct. 20: Change is in the autumn air
Oct. 13: We don't talk (enough) about beets
Oct. 6: Fava beans do double duty
Sept. 30: Seeds or transplants for cool-season veggies?
Sept. 23: How to prolong the fall tomato harvest
SUMMER
Sept. 16: Time to shut it down?
Sept. 9: How to get the most out of your pumpkin patch
Sept. 2: Summer-to-fall transition time for evaluation, planning
Aug. 26: To pick or not to pick those tomatoes?
Aug. 19: Put worms to work for you
Aug. 12: Grow food while saving water
Aug. 5: Enhance your food with edible flowers
July 29: Why won't my tomatoes turn red?
July 22: A squash plant has mosaic virus, and it's not pretty
July 15: Does this plant need water?
July 8: Tear out that sad plant or baby it? Midsummer decisions
July 1: How to grow summer salad greens
June 24: Weird stuff that's perfectly normal
SPRING
June 17: Help pollinators help your garden
June 10: Battling early-season tomato pests
June 3: Make your own compost
May 27: Where are the bees when you need them?
May 20: How to help tomatoes thrive on hot days
May 13: Your plants can tell you more than any calendar can
May 6: Maintain soil moisture with mulch for garden success
April 29: What's (already) wrong with my tomato plants?
April 22: Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)
April 15: Grow culinary herbs in containers
April 8: When to plant summer vegetables
April 1: Don't be fooled by these garden myths
March 25: Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth
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