Ladybugs and Other Beneficial Insects
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Posted by Meredith Jiles
06:52 PM - May 27, 2009
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We at The Great Outdoors made a conscious decision to stop carrying Lady Bugs and Praying Mantis (mantids) a few months back. Why you ask? Well, we discovered some new information that we found pretty shocking.
As far as the lady bugs, St. John’s University did a study that indicated that 30% of the Lady Bugs they purchased were infected with a disease that KILLS LADY BUGS!!! Another 10%-15% were infected with a parasitic wasp that also kills lady bugs. We don’t want to introduce these pathogens into our ecosystem and effect our local populations. Also, Lady Bugs are harvested while hibernating. They are literally sucked off trees with a shop vac while trying to rest. The last thing they want to do when you release them is start eating. They will likely go back into hibernation or start migration.
Mantids have their own issues. The mantid egg sacs usually sold contain Chinese mantids. These are huge insects that will eat ANYTHING they can catch, including bees, lady bugs, butterflies, etc… We’ve even seen that the first “big” baby to come out of the egg sac sits there and eats his siblings as they emerge. Again, we don’t want to introduce a foreign species into our ecosystem.
We are now carrying a pheromone lure to attract the natural lady bugs to your garden. There are also green lacewings, which are excellent beneficial insects. Unfortunately, we cannot keep them here at the nursery. They will not stay in stasis for very long. There are sources on the internet where you can order them and have them shipped directly to you. Of course, keeping your garden organic will allow the natural beneficial to establish and return on a regular basis. Soon, I will post an article about beneficials, including picture to help identify them.
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