  |
|
|
|
They are calling it the invasion of the ladybugs. When the weather gets cold, they start moving inside to find a warm place to spend the winter. I put 10 outside and 30 fly in. I am finding them everywhere in the house. I read that you don't want to squash them, since they can stain and leave an odor. So, since they are a beneficial insect, I just leave them. No point in killing them.
A good place to start learning about ladybugs is Ladybugs . They can be called lady bird beetles or lady beetles as well. There is the familiar red with black spots ladybug, but they can also be black with red spots (never seen one of those) or orange with black spots. Ladybugs are zoophagous or predator insects because they feed on other insects. They are a gardener's best friends. You will find ladybugs lunching on aphids, mealybugs, whiteflies, spider mites and scale insects. Another site, with information of a more scientific nature, that you might like to visit is Lady Beetles. Lady beetles, or ladybugs belong to the beetle family Coccinellidae, meaning "little sphere," with more than 4000 species worldwide. Find out about their life cycle ( Peaches Ladybugs save the roses is a cute game to play which illustrates their life cycle), habitat, feeding habits and the means by which they protect themselves. In July of 1999 passengers on the Space Shuttle Leo included ladybugs and aphids. They were part of a student-designed experiment, Ladybugs in Space , to determine the effect of microgravity on the relationship between predator (ladybugs) and prey (aphids). Can ladybugs in the microgravity environment of space prey on aphids to the same extent as ladybugs prey on aphids in the normal gravity environment of Earth? The site includes information about the space shuttle, with pictures of the actual experiment (it is situated in middeck inside the middeck locker). The experiment consisted of a control habitat (with plants and aphids) and an experimental habitat (with plants, aphids and ladybugs). Cameras took pictures of the various habitats during the experiment. Still shots of the habitats are included as part of the data collected during the course of the experiment. How did the ladybugs do? They did just fine in space. They were able to survive. Visit the site to find out more about this interesting experiment. Go To Page: 1 2
The copyright of the article Ladybugs in Science Websites is owned by . Permission to republish Ladybugs in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
|
|
|
|
