Can you believe there are 400 species of lady beetles in North America? Native and accidentally introduced beetles inhabit our gardens, fields and orchards, and forests. Let’s get the name straight, all lady bugs are lady beetles. Remember from your middle school biology class that are plants, animals and insects are broken down into a classification system? This classification system is based on shared characteristics and traits.
All beetles are scientifically classified under the order Coleoptera. The ones with the cute rounded body, red with black spots, black head with white ‘cheeks’ and the more oval orange or yellow or green ones with black spots are lady beetles AKA lady bugs. All of these small beetles are classified further under the family Coccinellidae. So, yes they are beetles but its okay to use either name. They all have bright colors and most have spots but some don’t. There are only two of the these types of beetles that are considered pests, the rest are beneficial to our green spaces.
Lifecycle of Lady beetle
Get it done, Ladybug
Lady beetles do good work, they eat aphids, a common plant pest that can inflict a lot damage. Aphids are tiny but congregate in high numbers so they look like they are smothering a lily or a rose or an apple bloom. Aphids lead to other issues like ants and sooty mold so it is great to have lady beetles in your yard. When you notice lady beetles on a plant alongside them may be a black and orange alligator worm thing—don’t worry! It is the larval form (juvenile) of the lady beetles and like all juveniles they are voracious eaters(of aphids) so let them do their thing!
Visitors
November through January ladybugs have been coming inside our basement windows. These are actually Asian lady beetles that in their native habitat over winter under tree bark or in rocky crevices. It is believed that these Asian lady beetles were accidently introduced to the the East coast through shipping containers. Unfortunately they don’t recognize the difference between house siding, window frames and their natural hideouts. They can be annoying but they are harmless. Amazingly, they are able to find the tiniest cracks to make entry into a home. Lady beetles like the southern or western side of buildings and once they are inside and toasty they keep moving around. Some years will be worse than others, populations vary from season to season. Scientists are still trying to figure out how they know to return to that same sunny corner or window. “Maybe its pheromones?”, is one idea.
A home with old windows or small gaps where cable lines or dryer vents come into the house are ideal access points. It would be worth the effort to caulk or spray foam to block those areas. This will not totally stop them. I have new windows and have carefully examined different possible entry points and they still get in. Don’t smoosh them, they can leave a stain on walls or fabric. Lady bugs won’t last long, you will find dead ones on your windowsill or floorboards.
Strategy
Best way to deal is to use a bagless vacuum to suck them up and then dump it outside. Remember those “Dust Buster” mini vacuums that everyone used to have? I think those would have been perfect for sucking ladybugs. Here is another suggestion I read on an agricultural extension website. If you don’t have a bagless vacuum then insert a knee high stocking into the vacuum pole/tube fold the stocking over the edge of the tube and secure with rubber band then place that narrow crevice attachment (usually comes with the set) on the end of the pole. The ladybugs can be sucked up and caught in that stocking and placed outside and you don’t waste one of those expensive filter vacuum bags.
Is it a swarm, a horde or a bevy?
Four hundred of anything sounds like a lot, and then imagine that for each of those species of ladybugs there are thousands and thousands crawling and flying around. It’s amazing that we are not drowning in ladybugs! And what do you call a mob of ladybugs? I couldn’t find a definitive answer. We shouldn’t be astounded when we see a throng of ladybugs on a brick wall, of course, there are that many out in the world! There is no denying a group together is always incredible and a little creepy.
The links below are just an example of the free, science based info that our University Agricultural/Horticultural extension offices provide. There is an university extension service in every state! Don’t miss out on reliable and free info not only on ladybugs but a variety of topics.