Ladybird Beetle Farm
Ms Swisher is currently nurturing a whole host ladybird beetle families who have taken up residence in a couple of the tubs.
“Oh no!” I fretted. “The green bean plants have been taken over by aphids”.
“It’s ok. This is our Ladybird Beetle Farm!” replied Ms Swisher.
Just wow. There’s a lot to see in nature, if you stop long enough to take a close look.
The animals will metamorphose from egg to adult, a process which can take up to two months, because Ms Swisher is letting the aphid-infested plants do their thing.
Here are the 4 stages of metamorphosis that are happening right now. If you come and take a look, try not to touch the yellow eggs, they’re all potential Labybirds. Go nature!
Ladybird eggs are bright yellow and easy to spot - laid underneath the leaf to protect them from predators.
On another leaf, the egg has hatched and we can see a little alligator-looking larva beetle crawling around eating aphids.
Next up it will change again into a pupa on its final journey to becoming a ladybird.
And then it was all so easy to see. Plenty of fully-grown, adorable, bright red ladybirds munching on aphids. Clever ladybirds.
FUN FACTS…
The name. Coccinellidae Beetle or Ladybird Beetle, is often misnamed Ladybug. But it is actually a beetle, not a bug.
What is the Ladybird lifecycle? 1) Egg, 2) Larva Beetle 3) Pupa and 4) Adult
How many eggs does a Ladybird lay? Ladybirds can lay up to 300 per season
How long does it take Ladybirds to grow? It takes up to 2 months to grow from egg to adult!
How many eggs does a Ladybirds lay? Ladybirds can lay between 10-50 eggs per day
How many aphids does a ladybirds eat per day? They eat between 20 and 75 aphids per day, yum
And here’s the best fact: A swarm of ladybirds is called "A Loveliness Of Ladybirds”
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Pupa image thanks to www.learnaboutnature.com