The Russian Federation must immediately withdraw its troops from certain areas of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions.

The US State Department notes that over the past month, fighting in regions of Donbass not controlled by the central government has intensified, which has provoked an increase in casualties among civilians.

A police operation will take place in Donbass

(News from Mariupol and the region)

To restore constitutional control in the Donbass, several thousand Ukrainian law enforcement officers will be enough, head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Arsen Avakov is sure. There is no need to attract forty thousand peacekeepers, because the deployment of a peacekeeping contingent is challenging task from a legislative point of view.

The German minister visited the combat zone

(News from Mariupol and the region)

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas visited the frontline city of Mariupol, Donetsk region. This was reported on the official page on the social network of his Ukrainian colleague Pavel Klimkin. As Klimkin noted, main goal The meeting is to communicate with local residents and analyze the situation in the so-called “gray zone”.

Poroshenko hopes for the deployment of peacekeeping troops

(News from Mariupol and the region)

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko expressed hope for the speedy deployment of peacekeeping troops to certain areas of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions. His colleague Frank-Walter Steinmeier is closely following the latest events in eastern Ukraine, so he has own options ending the armed conflict there.

Matios spoke about the crimes of military personnel

(News from Mariupol and the region)

Military personnel should not be idealized, notes military prosecutor Anatoly Matios. The crime rate among them remains consistently high, although the military prosecutor's office is actively combating these manifestations. The chief military prosecutor of Ukraine spoke about this at a conference in Kharkov on reforming military justice.

Ladybugs interesting facts...

How ladybugs prepare for winter

When the cold period sets in, ladybugs prepare for winter and begin to look for a suitable place for this. They can be seen in some places in large (even huge) quantities.

They can even fly around the city, looking for a place to winter.
They most often hide under fallen leaves, as it is warmer there.
In general, ladybugs overwinter in clusters under dry leaves, bark, stones, in crevices, and forest belts, often forming simply enormous clusters.

How long do ladybugs live?

Depending on the availability of food, these insects live from several months to a year, and very rarely - up to two years. Young individuals are always distinguished by their bright coloring, which gradually fades with age, while remaining a fairly convincing warning for predators who want to encroach on the life of the insect.

What do ladybugs eat?

Ladybugs are very useful: both they themselves and their larvae feed exclusively on aphids and their sweetish secretions; some prefer spider mites.

Types of ladybugs

There are more than 4,000 known species of ladybugs, which are distributed in all parts of the world. Some of them are found on all plants: trees, shrubs or grasses that only have aphids; others live only on field grasses; still others - in meadows adjacent to streams; fourth - only on trees; finally, some species live on reeds and other aquatic plants; the latter are distinguished by longer legs, which help them stay on plants that bend easily from the wind. Most common appearance- seven-spotted ladybug (Coccinella septempunctata). It is 7-8 mm in length. Its chest shield is black with a whitish spot in the front corner; red elytra with 7 black dots, very common in Europe, North Africa and in Asia.

The Asian ladybug or Harlequin (Harmonia axyridis) historically lived in Asia, as its name suggests. As you know, ladybugs are predators, and their main food is aphids, which are pests. The Asian ladybug is particularly voracious, which is the reason why people specifically introduced it to Europe and North America to combat agricultural pests. It took root well in new places and began to displace indigenous species.

The Asian ladybird species includes 11 varieties (intraspecific rank below subspecies).

Representatives of the variety differ in color; they can have a yellow or black shell with dots various colors. The number of points can also be different: from 2 to 19.

Life cycle of the Asian ladybug

The life cycle of the Asian ladybug is no different from the life cycle of other types of ladybirds.

We found photographs online that describe life cycle Asian ladybug yellow in color with 19 black dots. Here is a photo of an adult:

The female ladybug lays eggs on plants. She always does this near the aphid colony, so she provides the offspring with a supply of food.

The eggs have an oblong oval shape with slightly narrowed tops.

After 1-2 weeks, larvae emerge from the eggs, which bear little resemblance to adult ladybugs. Here's a photo of the larva:

In the first days of the larval stage of the life cycle, young individuals eat the shell of the egg from which they hatched, as well as neighboring unfertilized eggs and eggs with a dead embryo. Having grown stronger, the larvae go in search of aphids.

The larval stage of the ladybug life cycle usually lasts 5-6 weeks, sometimes more or less than a week. Then the larva pupates, that is, turns into a pupa.

After about a week, an adult emerges from the pupa, which is the ladybug that we are all accustomed to seeing.

Looks also: photo of ladybugs.

See also: how many black dots are on the elytra of a ladybug.

See also: ladybug gif.

At the end of the 19th century, the Australian aphid began to infect most orchards in California. The pest multiplied so quickly that it appeared real threat complete destruction of all fruit trees. Help came in a timely manner - an entomologist from Australia investigated the cause of the infection and brought 500 ladybugs to farms suffering from aphids. A year later the aphid was destroyed.

Most ladybugs are no larger than 12 mm in size, either oval or round types. The delicate hind wings of these insects are protected by hard elytra, which have the characteristic bright red or yellow color by which we recognize ladybugs. Of their 5,000 species, most are red with black dots. Besides them, there are also yellow or orange with black dots, and even black with red dots. There are exotic colorings that look like a chessboard, or plain ones without dots.

Most ladybugs live up to one year. Adult insects sleep in cozy dry places, often under a layer of leaves. When the air gets warmer, they wake up and fly out into the wild in search of plants infested with aphids. The female lays hundreds of tiny eggs on the lower surface of the leaf, close to the aphid cluster. The hatched larva has three pairs of legs, continuously eats aphids and grows, often shedding its shell. After several molts, the larva attaches to the plant and pupates. Soon an adult emerges from the pupa. At first it is colorless, but during the day the elytra acquire a bright color, intended to remind them of their poisonousness.

Ladybugs have good protection from predators - in case of danger, they secrete a caustic yellow substance with unpleasant smell and taste. A bird or spider only needs to try it once to remember it well - it is inedible. Usually, after this, the predator not only leaves its prey alone, but also remembers that it is inedible. Even tarantulas don't bother ladybugs. If they immediately eat other insects that fall into their burrow, then the spider immediately pushes the ladybug out the door, urging it on with blows of its front paws.

In case of danger, the beetle, tucking its legs and antennae, falls to the ground. This is a kind of nervous shock, developed as a way of protection from enemies: You can turn the bug on its back and lightly press it down, watch how it becomes numb, how orange drops stand out and taste them.

I tried it as a child, it’s disgusting, but not fatal (More precisely, it’s fatal when a dose of 40-80 mg of cantharidin enters the body, but that’s how many cows you have to lick).

Some species of ladybugs do not feed on aphids, but eat exclusively plant foods - such species sometimes attack plants that are useful to humans, but most of them are natural waste-free “pesticide” animals, for which we thank them very much))

There is still no substantiated opinion why this beetle is called a “ladybug”, and most importantly, why “ladybug”. Its divinity is emphasized in other cultures: in Germany it is called Marienkaefer (St. Mary's beetle), in England and English-speaking countries - Ladybird, Ladybug or Lady Beetle (Lady obviously means the Virgin Mary), in Argentina - St. Anthony's Cow, in Spain - Mariquita, in Israel - Moses' cow.

However, in reality, ladybugs have behavior that is not at all angelic; they also have sexual sins: promiscuity, necrophilia, homosexuality, and, as a result, venereal diseases. This is described in an article published in 2001 in the journal Nature. Its author, Ilya Artemyevich Zakharov, is not some kind of paparazzi, but a corresponding member. RAS, Doctor of Science, Deputy. Director of the Institute of General Genetics named after. N.I.Vavilov Russian Academy of Sciences.

sources: 1, 2, 3, 4.

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Ladybug Beetles and the Environment

Lady lady beetles are found throughout the growing season. Their active activity and appearance on the soil surface or on plants is timed to coincide with the transition of average daily temperatures over +50C. However, during this period the insects are still in their wintering areas.

In the forest-steppe zone in the third ten days of April, the average daily temperature transitions through +100C. At this time, some of the beetles fly from their wintering grounds to the soils of winter, perennial grasses, and virgin areas.

In the first ten days of May, the average daily air temperature rises to 12.40C, and most of the lady beetles migrate to various plant groups. Of these, the most remarkable are: the edge of bushes, water meadows, perennial grasses, grain crops, forest belts of birch plantations.

An increase in the average daily temperature to 14.40C in the second ten days of May increases the activity and additional feeding of ladybird beetles. In the second ten days of May they begin to lay eggs, and by the end of the third ten days the larvae emerge from the eggs. At the end of May - the first ten days of June, the larvae emerge, i.e. beetles of the overwintered generation begin to die off, and their numbers sharply decrease. By the end of the third ten days of June, the larvae, having passed the pupal stage, manage to turn into adult beetles of the first generation. At the end of June - beginning of July, the number of beetles in hayfields sharply decreases due to the removal of green mass. The second generation of the seven-spot ladybird appears in the second half of August, and the beetles go to winter. You can observe the mass reproduction of the seven-spotted ladybird in the first generation. In the third ten days of June, 20-50 times more larvae and beetles were observed than in normal years. This influenced the increased number of beetles that left for the winter. On second-year clover crops, beetles are found during 7-8 spring-summer decades, i.e. from the second ten days of April until harvesting

Beetles in other plant groups were captured to a lesser extent. Thus, in an alfalfa field of the second year of life, beetles were collected for six decades, and in a barley field and the edge of a bush - only in the second decade of July.

The ladybug's body shape is round and strongly convex. The color is bright, shiny, as if “varnished”. Their tarsi consist of four segments, but seem to be three-segmented, since their third segment is very small and inconspicuous. The small head is strongly retracted into the prothorax.

The bright color warns of their inedibility. From special pores in the joints of the legs, the beetle releases orange droplets of pungent hemolymph, which has an unpleasant odor.

Ladybug larvae live openly on plants. They are very mobile and are usually painted in a dark, often dirty green color with yellow or red patterns. Their body often bears various outgrowths, giving the larva a bizarre shape. Even more strange are the larvae, hidden under a cap of loose waxy secretions, reminiscent of the secretions of mealybugs.

Name on the wings

Sometimes they think: how many dots a cow has on her wings means how old she is. This belief is especially widespread among children. But this is not true. The dots do not indicate age, but what species many of the cows belong to. A cow with two points is called two-point, with five - five-point, with seven - seven-point. These three cows are especially common among us. They can be found anywhere: in fields, meadows, forests, gardens and orchards. But there are others: ten-point, eleven-point, twelve-point, etc.

There are so many different cows! Now, when you see a cow, try and count how many dots it has, and you will find out what species it belongs to. In total, there are more than four thousand species of cows in the world!

These beetles are not all red. There are yellow, brown, different shades, bronze... But all are spotted: speckled, polka dots, with black and whitish squares - like a chessboard, with stains - like marble.

There are folk signs associated with the ladybug. If the caught ladybug flies away, then the weather will be clear and sunny, but if it lands on the ground, it will rain.

Why are these insects called cows?

And they are called cows because they can secrete “milk”, although not white, but orange.

Of course, in reality this is not “milk” at all, but the blood is acrid and smells unpleasant. Because of it, neither birds nor lizards eat cows. And spiders, if cows get caught in their webs, rush to get rid of the tasteless prey - they break the threads and free the beetles. The cows are brightly colored to warn enemies: “We are inedible! Dont touch!"

Migratory beetles

Entomologists have no doubt that ladybugs, like many butterflies and dragonflies, undertake long journeys in spring and autumn. Their migratory flocks seen over different countries of Europe, Africa, Asia and America. One day they littered the streets of London like cereal. In August 1952, England was invaded from somewhere far away by a colossal swarm of ladybugs. Many beetles, as soon as they saw the shore above them, fell exhausted onto the rocks near the sea. The strait soon drowned them, and long after that the sea was colored near the shore with a reddish border of millions of beetles that had died in the waves. This strip stretched forty miles along the coast. Experts examined the beetles that died along the shore and decided that these were

The most common seven-spotted ladybugs.

Infestations of ladybugs have long been known to people. IN old books there are many stories about them. One French scientist came across an old chapel in the mountains. It seemed to be made of red coral, because it was completely covered with beetles. It turns out that from time to time beetles gather in flocks and fly somewhere. Where? It turns out that at the end of summer - beginning of autumn, cows fly to winter. And in the spring and early summer they return. As if they were not beetles, but migratory birds.

In mid-summer you can also see flocks of cows. They wander in search of food - they look for places where there are a lot of aphids. Cows most often fly high, so that they are not visible from the ground. One scientist, in order to find out where the beetles were going, had to chase them in a small plane. If strong wind or rain interfere with movement, or the beetles have to fly over water for a long time, they get tired and try to land at the first opportunity to rest. That is why they are so often found on the banks of rivers, seas and lakes. But sometimes beetles simply end up in the sea by misfortune; a cruel wind leads them astray. It takes you to your death, sometimes even into the open ocean.

Where do cows spend the winter?

Seven-spotted ladybugs gather in large groups, guided by smell, and flock to the edge of the forest. You can find them here in early spring when the snow melts. Look under last year's fallen leaves and you will see seven-spotted ladybugs. This is why you should not burn dry grass at the edge of the forest in the spring. Sometimes you walk through a burnt area, look at your feet, and suddenly see the red wing covers of a ladybug. Yes, there is a whole cemetery of beetles - they died at their wintering place.

Ladybugs do not always gather in large groups for the winter. Under the bark of old stumps you can find small groups or single ladybugs. From their own winter apartments the cows fly out late spring, when aphids appear on the foliage, their favorite treat.

Ladybug development

Yellow shiny eggs are glued in clusters on the bottom of the leaves. After a few days they will become almost transparent. And inside each one you can see a small larva. She fidgets, fumbles around there - she wants to get out. And finally the testicle bursts. The larva begins to crawl out of it, first its head sticks out, then its chest, then its legs. But it's not so easy to get out of the egg! It will take a lot of time before the larva, either resting or working hard again, is completely freed.

This is how the first life of the ladybug begins. The larva does not look like a beetle at all. The ladybug larva is seven-spotted, 3-15 mm long, colored in predominant colors. bright hues. The head has sinuous frontal sutures that begin directly on its posterior edge or extend from the short middle longitudinal suture. Mandibles with 1-2 apical teeth. On the prothorax there are two scutes located on top, i.e. one shield on its right and left halves. These scutes are divided into two parts by a membranous stripe, so on the prothorax the number of scutes increases to four. The antennae are three-segmented. Body segments with various projections, projections, convex areas and setae.

Spreading its long legs, moving its jaws, the larva runs along the leaves, along the stems, fumbles from right to left, arching its body. She is no longer yellowish, not light, but gray with red, orange, and white spots all over her body.

How do larvae grow? Ladybug larvae do not grow gradually, but rather in spurts. This is due to the properties of the “skins”, i.e. outer cover of the larvae. The outer cover is not able to stretch. Larvae

They molt and shed their skins until new skins harden and the larvae grow. This happens several times in a row. And if you watch the larvae during their growth, you can observe their molting. You can even calculate the daily diet of each larva. This is done very simply. Cow eggs are taken and placed in a certain vessel. After hatching, the larvae must be provided with a sufficient number of aphids. So, for the full development of the larvae, about 1000 aphids are needed. The daily diet of an adult larva consists of 60-100 adult aphids or 300 larvae. The experiment showed that when the larvae are limited in food, they develop slowly, and with a sharp and prolonged restriction, they develop extremely slowly, completely stop developing, become completely weak, become melancholic, and if they are kept in such limited conditions in the future, this will lead to their imminent death. The larva lives for three weeks. This is the period of life of this amazing and, undoubtedly, beautiful larva of the seven-spotted ladybug. What will be next? Where will this larva go? Somewhere under a leaf, on the bark, on a grass stem, it will hang. And it hangs not somehow, but upside down. Thus, to different subjects it is attached to the back side of its body. In this position the larva freezes. One day hangs, then another... It is extremely interesting to watch the last molt of a ladybug in the larval stage. This latest molt is not like the previous ones that happened before. It is interesting for its originality. At the initial stage of molting, the skin on the back of the hanging larva bursts, then gradually, slowly begins to creep upward, i.e. to the rear end of the body, gathering like an accordion.

And a milky white pupa becomes visible. Yes, yes, this is already a pupa, which means the second life of the ladybug begins - the life of a pupa.

Life of a doll

It's strange, this life of a doll. After all, the pupa is a completely motionless stage of development, without movement through bushes and grass, without travel, without hunting exploits and without any food at all. It seems that this motionless doll is completely lifeless. But anyone who thinks so is deeply mistaken. Do not touch such a doll under any circumstances; you can look at it, but do not touch it. After all, there is life in it - the life of a new creature, and although it does not manifest itself in anything now, in a week or two a wonderful bug will come out of it. As it hangs like this, the pupa darkens and becomes covered with yellow, orange, and black spots. And then the “skin” of the doll burst. The beetle was born. The ladybug has begun her third life!

True, this young beetle does not look much like a cow. His elytra are completely light, and there is not a single dot on them. The beetle sits and does not move. It’s interesting to watch him at this time - you just need to be patient. And you will need a lot of it, given that the formation of a ladybug takes a long time. You will have to sit near the cow for hours. It may seem like an infinity, and that’s why no one can do it. Sometimes a whole day will pass before the beetle becomes the way we are used to seeing it.

Slowly, slowly, dark dots appear on his pale body. Gradually, the elytra themselves become brighter. But if the “failed beetle” is frightened, its color changes. The beetle becomes brightly colored. This is the long and by no means easy path of development of the seven-spotted ladybug.

Practical meaning of ladybug

Mincing with black legs, the ladybug hastily crawls up the stem. He climbs onto the first leaf he encounters on the road, examines it, looking for aphids. Of course, the prey is not always caught right away. Then the hunter climbs to the next leaf. Then even higher, even higher... It happens that you are completely unlucky. Ladybugs only look so peaceful. In fact, they are predators.

Ladybugs are very beneficial insects. They save gardens from aphids. Aphids are famous for their fertility. Some cows eat 6-10 aphids a day. According to scientists, a beetle can eat four thousand aphids in its life. People have long understood that ladybugs are excellent helpers in the struggle for the harvest. They even began to transport beetles from one region to another, from country to country, from continent to continent.

American gardeners began to catch ladybugs in the fall and release them into orange plantations in the spring. Three weeks later we haven't seen any of them. Where and why did they fly? Every autumn they fly to the mountains. There, under stones, under fallen leaves, in dry pine needles, they spend the winter. Many thousands gather. In the spring they wake up and fly to the valley. So this is why ladybugs released in the spring scatter in all directions: instinct prompts this.

The botanical name of this colorful insect is Coccinellidae. The beetle differs from most garden inhabitants in its attractive appearance. When a person sees it, there is no instinctive desire to crush or slam it, and even the name indicates a loyal attitude. And rightly so, because adults feed garden pests. But that's not all that ladybugs eat: there are also herbivores among them.

Characteristics of an insect

There is no consensus on the origin of the name. It's interesting that on different languages it means only good things, for example, little calf, little lamb, sunshine, red-bearded grandfather. The body length of the cow varies from 4 mm to 1 cm. The body is elongated-oval or almost round shape. The back is very convex, the abdomen is flattened. Hairs grow on the lower surface of the body, but not in all species. The body is divided into the following parts:

• abdomen;
• chest, including 3 sections;
• head;
• pronotum;
• 6 legs;
• elytra;
• wings.

The structure of the pronotum is transverse; there is a notch in the anterior part. The head is motionless and small, the eyes are very large relative to the body, convex. Movable antennae consist of 8-10 segments. There are often spots on the anterior edge of the pronotum, as well as on the head. The color type differs different types, and there are also beetles with a monochromatic back.

It is impossible to say unambiguously which group of insects the ladybug belongs to, because among its species there are predators, phytophages and omnivores.

The middle and front parts of the chest are extended across the body, and the back part is almost square. All the beetle's legs are of medium length and look proportional in relation to the body. Each limb consists of one hidden and three obvious segments. The adult moves at high speed, using blades of grass, leaves, soil and other surfaces as support. The abdomen is divided into 6 segments covered with hard semirings (sternites).

The hind wings are designed for flight, and the front wings, in the process of evolution, developed into elytra. Their task is to cover the main pair while the beetle crawls rather than flies. Beetles protect themselves from birds and small animals that feed on insects by releasing a poisonous liquid with a nasty, pungent odor. The bright color also makes larger insects, as well as birds, afraid to taste it. Color options:

• dark purple;
• brown;
• bright burgundy;
• brown;
• dark orange and others.

The spots are most often black, gray-white, red-red or rich in color. They can be round, square or shapeless. In some species, females and males have different patterns.

Common types

The family to which the brightly colored beetle belongs has 7 subfamilies and about 4 thousand species. Several of them are found in the gardens of our country, the rest are more or less common in different continents. Varieties of greatest interest to gardeners:

Habitat

The ladybug lives in all climatic zones and on every continent except Antarctica. A beetle cannot survive only where all year round holds on subzero temperature. For example, it is not high in the mountains, where there is snow all the time. Countries with the most species: Norway, Iceland, Sweden, Denmark, France, Poland, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Japan, Pakistan, Mongolia, India, Korea, China.

More often the insect settles on crops covered with aphids, but sometimes it chooses reeds, sedges and young reeds as a habitat. There are species that prefer to inhabit field plants. Some prefer the banks of reservoirs, others need a shady, but not waterlogged area.

Insects live separately for most of their lives. You can see many individuals together only during wintering, migration or mating season. Although the beetle tolerates cold, it is a heat-loving insect. In the warm season, it prefers climates of temperate latitudes, and during cold weather, some subspecies move to other countries. The life expectancy of such species reaches 2 years, and with a lack of nutrition - even less.

There are sedentary insects that gather in colonies of up to 40 million for the winter. One such community can weigh 2-3 tons. Having taken refuge from the cold and huddled together, insects survive severe frosts. During the winter, many die, but the main part of the colony emerges from hibernation in the spring. It is not difficult to find where ladybugs hibernate in the garden: they usually choose places between stones, plant debris, and foliage.

Eating in the wild

Under natural conditions, insects feed on various types of aphids. This pest poses a threat to both cultivated and wild grasses, trees and shrubs. The beetle with bright dots is a real helper for gardeners. By destroying pest colonies, it makes it possible to use pesticides and insecticides in smaller quantities, and sometimes even do without chemicals. Except for aphids, everything is food insects that do not have a hard chitinous shell:

• scale insects;
• psyllids;
• scale insects;
• ticks.

If in a particular region the population of ladybugs decreases greatly for some reason, the pests begin to multiply intensively, as the deterrent disappears. In this case, mass destruction of crops occurs. If measures are not taken in time, you may be left without the harvest of many agricultural crops. The relationships between species are of great importance to a biological system, and should not be forgotten.

The natural balance can be disrupted for other reasons, as happened in European countries. By accident, the grooved scale insect was introduced, and the number of beneficial insects turned out to be insufficient to cope with the pest. In its homeland, Australia, this species does not harm cultivated plants, since there is quite a lot of rhodolia there - ladybugs no larger than a match head. Scientists urgently had to import rhodolia from Australia. This measure helped save the orange orchards.

Of those species that feed on both plants and insects, in Russia the three most common:

• Pointless. An omnivorous insect that eats both pests and sweet clover, alfalfa, clover and some other herbs.
• Coccinellid twenty-eight point. Eats aphids, mites, scale insects, scale insects, as well as plantings of cucumbers, potatoes, and tomatoes. Often found in the Far East.
• Alfalfa. It feeds on garden pests, alfalfa and sugar beet leaves.

Larvae and adults use the same food for food, but in different quantities. In 3 weeks, the larva eats up to 7 thousand aphids, and an adult ladybug eats several times more. In turn, the volume of food consumed by a herbivorous insect is several times greater than that consumed by a predator ladybird.

Diet at home

A beneficial insect can get into the house by accident, for example, people often bring it on clothes or with crops. It also happens that a beetle sneaks into a home to escape cold and hunger. An adult can survive in the house if it is fed and provided with a calm environment. The best food for a beetle is a spider mite or aphid, but if there are no pests on the flowers, there is no point in breeding them on purpose. This is what ladybugs eat at home:

• natural honey diluted in water;
• sweetened water;
• pieces of raisins, bean leaves, peas, tomato, cucumber (suitable for phytophages).

It can be interesting for children to watch a bug eat. In the first days after an insect enters the house, it needs to be fed, and then no longer. You should find a cool place for the cow and put it there. The right temperature for a match is between the window frames. There the beetles can sleep peacefully until spring. The insect will not cause any harm in the house, and in the spring it can be released into the garden.

It is important to know: both insectivorous and herbivorous ladybugs are useful for the ecosystem, and you should not destroy them unnecessarily. The child should also be explained that killing insects is bad.

Reproduction and life cycle

At the age of 3-6 months, the beetles become sexually mature. Mating begins in the spring, shortly after emerging from hibernation. The female secretes a liquid, the smell of which attracts males. Beetles choose a place for eggs where there are colonies of aphids in order to provide the offspring with food. The clutch usually contains 400 eggs, oval in shape, orange, yellow or white.

In 10-15 days, the ladybug develops into a larva. Juveniles have the same coloration as adults. First, they feed on the shell of the eggs from which they hatched, as well as on dead embryos. After a few days they begin to eat aphids, and after 5-7 weeks they pupate. Part of the larval cover is retained, and with these remains the pupa is attached to the leaf. The last stage is the formation of all body parts, after which the beetles hatch. That's how it is short description life cycle.

Thanks to the gluttony of larvae and adult ladybugs, farmers in many countries around the world can make do with fewer chemical treatments or not use insecticides at all. An interesting way to treat fields is to spray adult insects from airplanes and helicopters. For this purpose, ladybugs are bred on special farms. Thus, most species only bring benefits. Bright insects that damage agricultural crops live mostly in countries with tropical and subtropical climates, and are rare in Russia.

Ladybug, fly to the sky. Your kids are there, eating candy.

With these words, as children, we threw bugs into the sky, giving them an impetus to fly. trample ladybugs was a real crime - they are God's. As a child, I didn’t think much about the meaning of the name of this bug, I just knew that if it was a living creature, especially “God’s”, I needed to take care of it.

What does a bug have from God, and what does it have from a cow?

There are many guesses about the name of this insect. But still, no one has canceled the divinity of this bug. So there is something supernatural about the purpose of the cow. At the very least, this is a cute and, at first glance, innocent creature. And why the cow, actually? There is an opinion: precisely because this cow is also produces milk, only it is secreted from the legs and serves to repel enemies, spiders and some insects. Frogs are also not averse to eating ladybugs.

Feeding ladybugs

Yes, basis of nutrition, both adults and larvae are aphid. Since aphids reproduce very quickly, this food is generally sufficient. One small bug can destroy about 200 insects, and the larva has an even more excellent appetite.

Diet variety ladybugs are:

• mites;
• scale insects;
• insect pupae;
• small caterpillars;
• butterfly eggs;
• psyllids;
• Colorado potato beetle eggs (on fast days).

Larvaeladybug they can even eat eggs that have not hatched, brothers Of the variety of species and subspecies, the basis is predators. But there is also herbivores pests Why is that? It is the pests, since in this case they, along with aphids, cause a huge damage to vegetable crops.

The cow is small and distant

ladybugs live up to a year- this is when sufficient quantity food. If they fail to obtain food, their lifespan may be reduced to a couple of months. But during their short life, these bugs bring tangible benefits to people. This cute creature leaves many mysteries and contradictions. Benefits and harms in one form.

But one thing is clear: this bug, even if it doesn’t bring good luck, as is commonly believed, then exactly makes you smile by his appearance.

Ladybugs, beetles of the family Coccinellidae, are probably one of the best known popular beetles. But these ordinary speckled bugs, familiar to every child, turn out to be far from being fully studied by a wide range of naturalists. Not everyone knows that the “great family of ladybugs” has over 4,000 species.

Ladybugs hold the record for the accumulation of individuals of one species and in one place for wintering. So, in one such cluster, 40 million beetles were once counted. The most important thing for humans is that ladybugs are formidable enemies of various crop pests - aphids, scale insects, mites; they serve as faithful assistants to people in the fight for the harvest.

Benefit for humanity

In recent years, rich data has been accumulated in the study of the ecology and behavior of ladybugs, which is of interest not only to entomologists. About some of the most ordinary predatory species, but just the most useful ones, and will be discussed in this article. The beneficial role of ladybugs was known at the beginning of the last century, and since then many entomologists have advised peasants to collect these insects and bring them into their gardens.

Now ladybugs are bred in laboratories, collected in winter at wintering sites, sometimes transported over vast distances, and some countries even trade them briskly. But if the use of ladybugs when biological method The struggle sometimes led to truly brilliant results, but in other cases entomologists failed, which prompted them to begin a serious study of these insects, and primarily ecology and behavior. Beetles are divided into many species, spread over vast territories. Occupying such vast habitats, ladybugs have adapted to a wide variety of environmental conditions. Due to what qualities did they manage to achieve this?

Egg laying, breeding possibilities

All “ladies” can be divided into two large categories depending on the presence or absence of a false ovipositor in females. In the first case, eggs are laid one by one and in a specific place chosen by the female. In the second - in packs, up to 65 pieces, directly onto the leaves. Since all the closest relatives of the family have a false ovipositor, we can assume that it was also the original ancestor of cows, and later disappeared in individual representatives of the family. Although in all cows oviposition is a rather lengthy process and lasts a month or more, nevertheless, in females equipped with an ovipositor, fertility is not high: usually about 30-60 eggs per season. But the female can lay each egg on or near a nutrient substrate, and in the desert protect it from drying out by placing it in the axils of the leaves, where humidity remains high even in summer.

Thus, Chilocorus beetles lay eggs in ovisaki (egg sacs), thereby providing food for their offspring. Stetorus beetles lay eggs singly directly on leaves, but then on plants infested with mites, which their offspring feed on. The black-headed exochomus, which lives in the deserts of Transcaucasia and Central Asia, hides its eggs in the axils of leaves herbaceous plants. However, most ladybugs that feed on aphids - the so-called aphidophages - lay eggs in batches directly on the leaves, regardless of the presence or absence of abundant food. However, oviposition is always preceded by increased feeding of the female, so that eggs are laid close to feeding sites.

The female's fertility per season is several hundred eggs, sometimes up to two thousand. High fertility replaces care for offspring. It has long been established that cannibalism is widely developed among cows: beetles often eat their own larvae and pupae, and the larvae, in turn, eat the eggs and younger relatives. However, careful research recent years showed that cannibalism is of a specialized nature. The young larva, hatching from the egg, eats the shell. But this is clearly not enough for her. Egg white reserves are small - they last a voracious insect no more than a day. Therefore, the hatched larva begins to eat eggs of the same clutch lying nearby. For some reason, she selects only those that are not fertilized. Females always lay a fairly high percentage of unfertilized eggs, providing early nutrition for the offspring. But it happens that along with the fertilized eggs, fertilized eggs are also eaten.

Development ways

Ultimately, the cows were presented with two options: either retain the ovipositor and the ability to lay eggs in favorable conditions, but with low fertility, or lay eggs in batches on random objects, thereby losing the ovipositor, but sharply increasing fertility. The first path was “chosen” by cows that feed on coccids, ticks and other invertebrates, the population numbers of which change relatively little and smoothly over the season. The second way turned out to be more profitable for most aphid eaters, which have complex development dynamics, usually with sharp spring and autumn peaks of reproduction and a large decline in summer. This path turned out to be beneficial for herbivorous ladybirds.

After the first diet, the larva begins to hunt. However, neither she nor the adult insect have any abilities for this purpose. Although all cows and their larvae are sighted, they do not see food, even close up, do not smell or guess it, and are able to eat it only after they accidentally come across it and feel it with their palps. All this makes it difficult to find the victim. Another difficulty is temperature regime. Although hunting can last around the clock, for most species activity begins at temperatures above 10°, and even then at a slow pace, and stops at temperatures of 30-35°. Thus, the range of favorable temperatures is small. At the same time, even desert species require relatively high humidity and are inactive if the air is too dry.

The feeding process of ladybugs

All this was reliably determined through lengthy laboratory experiments. The feeding process in these animals is quite complex and requires considerable time. First, a hole is bitten into the victim's body, through which the liquid is sucked out and saliva containing digestive enzymes is injected into it. After some time, when the contents of the victim’s body are sufficiently digested under the influence of enzymes, it is swallowed. Thus, digestion is largely external, which naturally slows down nutrition. Thus, for a ten-spotted ladybird, it takes from 120 to 900 minutes to eat the victim: for a first-instar larva, it takes from 120 to 900 minutes. and more, in the second instar larva it lasts from 38 to 215 minutes, the third - from 14 to 27 minutes, the fourth - from 4 to 62 minutes, depending on the size of the prey, temperature and humidity of the environment. Adults feed faster. Thus, an adult stetorus can eat two ticks or a dozen of their eggs in an hour.

Data on the gluttony of cows is numerous, but not clear. Appetite depends on temperature, condition of the victim, composition of food, its abundance, etc. Here are some approximate data.

The daily diet of adult larvae and oviparous females of the genus Neurodamia is about 50 aphids. Huge larvae of Anisolemnia dilatata F. in China devour 400-500 bamboo aphids per day. Our usual seven-spotted ladybird destroys approximately 4,000 Aphis pomi aphids in its life, and its larva eats about 600. The smaller eleven-spotted ladybird consumes about 800 aphids of the same species, and its larva eats about 200. Stetorus females destroy about 40 mites per day , and males - 20, their larva for their full cycle development destroys approximately 300 ticks. During its life, an adult eight-spotted brumus destroys almost 5,000 Aphis craccivora aphids in the first generation, and approximately 2,750 in the second; the larva of the first generation destroys 650 aphids, and the second - 3,800.

Thus, one pair of Brumus with their first generation offspring destroys about 278,000 aphids (according to V.V. Yakhontov). Such extremely high gluttony with a slow rate of feeding leaves little time for searching for food, so normal development cows is possible only with a massive accumulation of their victims. The indispensable expectation of such circumstances is evidenced by the fact that the cows are only capable of moving very slowly, and the fact that they do not have devices for grasping and holding prey.

Aphids, on the other hand, are better able to defend themselves against cows that attack them from the front rather than from the back. Therefore, aphids occupy certain places on the leaf, taking into account the “runs” of the beetles, which crawl onto the leaf along the stem and then move along the veins.

How do cows find food?

Despite poor eyesight and lack of smell, many species of cows have a certain “hunting strategy.” In search of prey, the cow first runs in a straight line until it stumbles upon the first victim. But, having absorbed it, it begins to describe complex zigzags, knowing that aphids always stay crowded. This significantly improves hunting efficiency. Since the ladybug attacks the aphid only after it has felt it, the aphid may have time to hide from it or push it away with its foot, especially if it is much larger than the predator.

An aphid can roll down from a leaf to the ground, but in this case it needs to be able to climb up again before it dies from exhaustion (which, however, it does not always succeed). Some aphids, when attacking them, douse the body of a ladybug with honeydew, which they secrete from their abdominal tubes. The liquid temporarily paralyzes the predator. Thanks to all these circumstances, the ladybug eats only part of the aphids it detects, and mainly those that are smaller than it. Therefore, young larvae are often forced to make do with eggs or very small aphids.

Many victims know how to hide from cows. Thus, those pads that sit in a crack in the bark or under lichens are inaccessible to predators. As a result, the number of pads, even with an abundance of ladybugs, remains quite high level, which, however, ensures the survival of the predator. Some plants themselves repel ladybugs, and they never visit them, creating good shelters for aphids. But mostly aphids are trying to defend themselves chemically. Many become poisonous to cows or unsuitable for them. Thus, elderberry aphids (Aphis sambuci), magnolia aphids (Aulacorthum magnoliae) and (Brachycaudus cardui) are not suitable for feeding on the seven-spotted ladybird, but are readily eaten by other species. The vetch aphid (Megoura viciae), on the contrary, attracts this ladybird, but is poisonous to the other two, etc.

Relationships with ants

Ants also protect aphids from cows. The relationships between aphids and ants are complex and not yet fully understood. Ants feed on honeydew secreted by aphids, which can make up up to half of their diet. It’s not without reason that they say about ants that they “milk” aphids. At the same time, the ants try to regulate the number of aphids, maintaining an optimal density of settlements. Ants zealously protect settlements from enemies.

Aphids are protected the more carefully the closer they are to the anthill and the fewer in number they are. By caring for aphids, ants can cause indirect harm different cultures, in particular, garden and cotton plantings. Usually the ants use it to drive away the cows, but sometimes they kill them. Thus, according to the observations of V.V. Yakhontop, during the massive artificial saturation of cotton fields in Central Asia with brumus cows, introduced there to combat cotton aphids, many cows died precisely from the ants.

Along with this, the magnificent ladybird (Coccinella magnifica) enjoys the protection of ants and exterminates aphids around anthills with impunity. But there are no true myrmecophiles (“cultivating” ants) among the cows, and termitophiles are very rare and are found only in Central America. But the main difficulty in feeding aphidophagous cows lies in the sharp decline in the number of aphids in the summer; the larvae of the cows die en masse from starvation.

The meaning of cows

Interesting studies on the importance of the eight-spotted ladybird in suppressing the number of aphids were carried out in Czechoslovakia. If in certain, artificially isolated sections the number of ladybugs is high, then the aphids are completely destroyed, but then the ladybugs themselves die from exhaustion. If the concentration of ladybugs is low, they, on the contrary, survive and reproduce normally. But since aphids reproduce much faster, ladybugs are not able to limit their growth. However, in natural conditions beneficial effect much higher, because cows in search of food can fly away in all directions, often over long distances.

During the season, cows constantly wander. Thus, in Southern Siberia in the spring they are found on a wide variety of plants, but in the summer they concentrate exclusively on nettles. In Central Asia in the fall, after harvesting most crops, ladybugs flock to cotton fields, where they destroy aphids. In Japan, in the summer, some cows switch to feeding on rice leeches, a dangerous pest of rice, which brings enormous, invaluable benefits to humans. In Ukraine, in the summer, ladybugs migrate to cereal fields, where their activity is also very useful.

In Central Europe, on the contrary, ladybugs concentrate in the summer where their useful role is much more modest. Sometimes unfavorable environmental conditions cause mass migrations of ladybugs over long distances. During years of severe drought, mass accumulations of ladybirds on the Crimean coast were repeatedly observed. Mass flights have also been described in England, but the cause has not yet been established. There are also wingless species among the cows, but they do not bring any benefit.

Nutritional Features

Another more valuable property“cows” - polyphagous. They are able to feed not only on various types of aphids, but also on caterpillars, larvae, pupae and eggs of butterflies, beetles, dipterans, proboscis, etc., as well as mites and their eggs. Hungry ladybugs often become cannibals, and the seven-spotted ladybird managed to achieve a full development cycle using only its own eggs.

Most types of ladybugs immediately switch to feeding on nectar in the absence of animal food. Other ladybugs prefer different fungi, including powdery mildew, which is known to damage the leaves of many plants. For some species, fungi have become the main or even exclusive food. On occasion, ladybugs can also gnaw through green leaves (which explains the abundance of literature data on the damage they cause to various plants). Damage to leaves is observed only in hot and dry weather and is random.

But there are also a number of species that have become specialized phytophages that feed exclusively on green parts of plants. A mixed type of food is also known, for example, the beet ladybird. In Southern Europe it feeds mainly on aphids and pollen, and in Kazakhstan it has become a dangerous beet pest. Apparently, the transition to feeding on green parts of plants becomes more frequent as the climate becomes drier. However, examples of such nutrition are rare. In the vast majority of cases, food plant foods its purpose is only to temporarily maintain the existence of the individual through the absorption of carbohydrates, but it is not sufficient for the development of the larva, nor for the maturation of the gonads.

Cycle of life

Ladybugs have the ability, important in the struggle for existence, to arbitrarily change their life cycle depending on conditions external environment. All known variants of this cycle can be divided into five types:

1. The overwintered adult insect (imago) flies out in the spring. Mating and the beginning of oviposition are usually in May. The imago of the new generation flies out in July, feeds heavily, and at the end of the month or in August flies away for the winter without mating. One generation develops in this way per year. This cycle is common in the temperate Holarctic, especially in the forest zone.
2. The active period begins in early spring, and departure for wintering occurs in June and sometimes in May. The dormant stage extends from early summer to late winter. This cycle, typical of hot countries with dry summers, is typical for the Eastern Mediterranean. Only one generation also develops per year.
3. Two generations develop per year, following each other and often overlap. Oviposition occurs in May - June and July - August. The first generation flies out in July and mates immediately, the second in the fall, usually in October, and mates the following spring after wintering. In some cases, a third generation may also develop. The fertility of the overwintered generation is always higher than the subsequent ones. This type is typical for species with a short development cycle in countries with a temperate climate and a long growing season.
4. Two generations develop per year, the first generation after emergence goes to summer (estivation) at the end of May or June, mates and lays eggs in the fall. The second generation flies out in October - November and mates after wintering. Occasionally in spring, instead of one, two generations develop. This cycle is common in the Mediterranean and is confined to areas with early spring and dry and hot summers.
5. There are many generations per year, following each other, more or less overlapping, without diapause and without overwintering, but usually with dormant periods when the ladybugs temporarily fall into torpor due to unfavorable conditions of temperature or humidity. This cycle is known for the tropics and hot subtropics. In all these types, wintering, if any, occurs in the adult stage, but isolated cases are known when an egg or larva also overwinters along with the imago, and in Cryptolemus, living in hot and humid subtropical forests, the pupa usually overwinters in the forest litter.

Interestingly, the types listed above are not characteristic of any specific species, but can even occur in the same population. Thus, in Czechoslovakia, the development of the seven-spotted ladybird under normal conditions proceeds according to the first type. However, through selection in the laboratory, it was possible to isolate individuals developing continuously, i.e., according to the fifth type. It is this type of development that is characteristic of Indian populations of the species.

It is remarkable that this type has been preserved in Central Europe, despite the obvious discrepancy in weather conditions (though in insignificant proportions). These data indicate rich population polymorphism in ladybirds, which determines their greater ecological plasticity. This explains the huge range of many species and their adaptability to a wide variety of environmental conditions. This ability allows it to fall into diapause at unfavorable times of the year - either summer or winter. However, in countries with cold winter wintering remains " bottleneck", always leading to high mortality. But even here, the cows managed to develop protective devices.

How do they winter

The ladybug doesn't like the cold. Of the more than 4 thousand species of ladybirds known in the world, barely a tenth is found in the Holarctic, and here, too, most species are characteristic of the subtropics. This is enough to talk about the weak winter hardiness of insects. Many animals have known aggregations for wintering, but the record in the number of these aggregations undoubtedly belongs to cows, in which, as mentioned above, aggregations of up to 40 million individuals are known (USA). These accumulations even serve as food for bears. In winter aggregations, in which the cows are pressed tightly together, the temperature is several degrees higher than in the environment. Two types of clusters are described - gypsotactic and climatological.

The first form on the tops of mountains or hills, usually under heaps of stones and in rock cracks, in dry and windy places. In the Himalayas, such accumulations (for the seven-spotted ladybird) were found up to an altitude of 4500 m above sea level. m., in Transcaucasia, Central Asia and Altai they are usually located at altitudes of about 2-3 thousand m. In Italy they are rarely located above a thousand meters. It is in this type of aggregation that ladybugs can be very numerous. Climatological clusters form in forests, often around old trees, on trunks, under their bark or in cracks, hollows, etc., sometimes under stones, and stations with high humidity. These clusters are never very large.

It has been noted that the same species, for example the same seven-spotted ladybird, can form aggregations of both types or overwinter on the forest floor in small batches, so population polymorphism has an effect here too. Accumulations, especially gypsotactic ones, are associated with migrations, often significant, and usually form at the same points from year to year, with the migration to wintering taking place over several days, and the dispersion in the spring is extended. Winter aggregations are typical only for species that feed on aphids. The same species that feed on coccids or mites, as well as herbivores, usually overwinter alone or in small groups in the same place where they feed. The biological meaning of the clusters has caused much debate among entomologists.

Reproduction

Mating always occurs in clusters before dispersal. Since geneticists have established for many species a sharp decrease in fertility during inbreeding, it is clear that with large aggregations the chance of such inbreeding becomes negligible.

It is also noted that the spring awakening of cows coincides with the active development of reproductive products. But all these considerations do not explain why clusters are present or absent even in the same population. It seems to us that the correct explanation should be sought in the historical formation of the group. The family of ladybirds is clearly of tropical origin and originally must have fed on coccids or mites, as is still the case in the tropics, where aphids are few in number.

On the contrary, in countries with cold winters, aphids are usually abundant and coccids are rare (in the subtropics, ladybugs feed on both aphids and coccids). With the cooling of the climate during a certain geological period, probably in the Paleogene, some populations of aphidophagous ladybirds were forced to adapt to colder winters, but the abundance of food led to their massive reproduction. This, in turn, could contribute to the formation of winter aggregations, the main benefit of which was protection from the cold. Subsequently, more frost-resistant species appeared, populating both the boreal zone and high mountains.

Dispersing south along mountain ranges, some species remained high-mountain. Others began to descend into the valleys in the spring, where food was more plentiful for them. But they retained the ability to return to their original biotope when environmental conditions in the valleys became unfavorable. Subsequently, many of these species, thanks to their high ecological plasticity, secondarily adapted to existence in the plains and changed their wintering conditions.

The above data demonstrates the ease with which many cows adapt to a wide variety of environmental conditions.

Ecological plasticity

Intraspecific ecological plasticity - this simple “adaptive strategy” - turned out to be enough to populate vast spaces. The same spot ladybird is found in the taiga zone, in mixed and deciduous forests, steppes and deserts throughout almost the entire Palearctic, rising high into the mountains, and in India it has reached the tropical zone. In Africa, its settlement stopped at the desert, the climate of which was too dry for it. Other reasons that favor the survival of cows include the toxicity of their blood to many animals. And the bright and motley warning color helps the predator, once flattered by the ladybug, not to repeat the unpleasant mistake. Therefore, cows only in very rare cases become victims of other predators.

The cows represent interesting example species that managed to spread widely and reproduce using precisely the primitive features of their structure: the sense organs, which serve as characteristic indicators of the level of evolution in insects, are poorly developed in them. Their movements are quite slow, they cannot run fast, fly well, or catch prey, as many other predators do. And yet they are numerous everywhere and thrive precisely because of their weak specialization.

A number of features in particular in the way of life of ladybugs - high ecological plasticity, the ability to concentrate in small areas, the ability to devour a large number of aphids, mites, scale insects during their mass reproduction - determine the prospects for an even wider use of these natural human assistants in crop protection. The success of such use depends to a large extent on further in-depth study of their lives and behavior.

In addition to aphids, the ladybug eats small pest caterpillars, slugs, eggs of butterflies and the Colorado potato beetle, scale insects and spider mites.

During the spring and summer months, the ladybug eats enough food and accumulates reserves for wintering. As soon as the cold weather sets in, these beetles begin to hibernate, and in the spring a new round of life begins, and those ladybugs that were able to survive the winter begin to lay larvae, but by the time the new generation reaches full life, these individuals are already dying. However, ladybugs have a very large population, so in nature we meet them quite often, both in the forest and in the concrete jungle of megacities.

In scientific books they are called “Coccinellidae”, or “Coccinellidae”, in other countries the ladybug is called differently: “St. Virgin Mary’s beetle”, “St. Anthony’s beetle”, “Sun”. In Tajikistan they are called “Redbeard Grandfather”. This name shows how reverently summer residents treat beneficial insect.

What does a ladybug eat in winter?

In winter, ladybugs do not feed on anything, as they hibernate or go into a state of suspended animation. Before winter, ladybugs accumulate glycerin and sugar in their tissues, and also remove large amounts of water from the body, so that when cold weather sets in and the body cools, they do not burst from the temperature change.

With the onset of cool days, insects begin to look for warm places to winter. Ladybugs can concentrate in one place for the winter large quantities. Before wintering, insects fly in flocks over the city in search of a new shelter. Most often, ladybugs remain for the winter in heaps of dry leaves, in bark, under stones, in forests, in window cracks, sometimes organizing huge clusters. There are often cases when ladybugs fly into private houses and apartments and hide in window frames, behind curtains, behind plinths and in other inconspicuous places, and then the owners find them in a sluggish state of winter suspended animation.

Ladybugs are very useful: they themselves and their larvae feed on pests - aphids. So if ladybugs decide to spend the winter in your garden plot, you can be sure that in the summer you will be protected from aphids in your garden. But do not rush to completely plow the area, otherwise you will lose your defenders from aphids for a long time. For this small predator, only the human hand is dangerous; they die en masse from the poisons that gardeners spray their gardens with. Therefore, leave a few places with fallen leaves so that the cows have a place to hide and survive the winter.

The ladybug has wings and is a flying insect; among them there are breeds that are called “migratory”. They are like birds; they can fly away for the winter away from their feeding area. But naturally, they hibernate there too, only in huge groups, sometimes even weighing several tons.

There's a ladybug at home - what to feed it?

If you find a live ladybug in your apartment, help it survive until spring. Most The best way- this means taking it out of the house, but not throwing it into the snow, but choosing a good shelter. A barn or garage is ideal for this purpose, where they can overwinter without any problems. Don't do this in severe frost so that the temperature difference for the insect is not too strong.

Keeping an insect in the freezer until spring is not the best idea; the ladybug simply will not survive.

If you want to try to keep a ladybug alive at home, you need to know what to feed it and how to properly maintain it. Take any container, arrange a floor at its bottom from leaves, branches, sticks and transfer the ladybug there. We also recommend creating optimal conditions for the insect to live in, put more straw and dry leaves into the container, mixing loosely together so that artificial crevices are created, which ladybugs love to use as their lair. It is possible to use corn tops for shelter in a jar; it will perfectly close the insect’s home from prying eyes. At home, ladybugs are fed with sweet sugar water or honey; you can pour these mixtures into the lid of plastic bottle. This food is a treat for the ladybug. Besides sweet water These beetles are fed raisins and pieces of ripe apples. Just like any pet, a ladybug needs some water.

Think twice before you decide to keep a ladybug at home, because it may not survive until spring and this will not necessarily be your fault; the lifespan of a ladybug is about 2 months.

What do ladybugs eat at home and why are they bred?

Some gardeners and businessmen breed ladybugs at home in transparent plastic containers, make very small holes in the lid, or cover them with gauze or mosquito net and feed them with a mixture of yeast and sugar. Why do they do this? To then release them on your site to combat aphids or for sale to other gardeners.

For creating comfortable conditions For the life and reproduction of ladybugs, small plants are planted in their housing, which are populated by aphids, so the ladybug finds itself almost in a natural habitat, can hunt and lead an active lifestyle. In captivity, ladybugs reproduce better than in nature, and at the same time, adult individuals remain living with their faces at the same time.

When there are enough ladybugs in the container, they are put up for further sale; most often, gardeners buy them in large quantities, and keep the larvae and a few insects for themselves so that the cycle of ladybugs does not end.