It is common knowledge that ladybugs are beneficial to the garden. After all, people are only too happy to grant this status to the likeable, cute little guys. But what exactly makes them so helpful for hobby gardeners? Quite simply: your culinary preferences.
What do ladybugs usually eat?
Ladybirds mainly eat pests such as aphids, scale insects and spider mites. In times of need, they can also rely on plant foods such as fruits and pollen. Some species also feed on mildew and mold.
The fine diversity of ladybirds
Ladybirds are a very species-rich and diverse family of beetles. The world's 360 genera and over 6,000 species are only represented to a small extent here, but the species that live here offer a fairly wide spectrum of different appearances and lifestyles.
In general, it is primarily the ladybirds of the subfamily Coccinellinae that occur in Europe. When studying their diet, we therefore limit ourselves to the species that belong to it. Externally, the Coccinellinae offer a very wide range of color phenomena, although the pattern and colors can be summarized as something typical of ladybirds. From the classic black dotted tomato red to red spotted black, completely dotless monochrome or black dotted yellow, everything is there.
Ladybird's favorite food
The feeding habits of the Coccinellinae ladybirds are similarly varied. Here, too, there are fundamental similarities, but also species-specific deviations and peculiarities. The vast majority of species prefer to eat very common and, above all, numerous garden pests. These include:
- Aphids
- Scale insects
- Spider mites
With these culinary preferences, ladybugs are of course extremely welcome to every gardener, because aphids in particular are a yoke that is not really dangerous, but very annoying and, above all, can never be completely eliminated. Ladybugs can't get enough of aphids. They are without a doubt her number one favorite food. A ladybird can eat 50 of these pests a day and is therefore often only too happy to find itself on heavily infested plants.
Lady beetle larvae are even more effective at decimating aphids. After all, they still have to grow big and strong and therefore consume up to 600 of them during their 30-60 day development period before pupation. One ladybird offspring can destroy around 100,000 pests per generation. So you would do well to make the ladybugs as comfortable as possible in the garden. More on this in the last section.
Apart from the common aphids, scale insects and spider mites, there are other pests on ladybugs' menu. For example:
- Bugs
- Thrispe
- sawfly larvae
- Beetle larvae
- Butterfly larvae (rare)
Scary cannibalism
Cannibalism actually only seems scary in our human culture. However, it is completely normal in the animal world. It is also common among the friendly ladybugs. When the larvae hatch, the motto is: first come, first served. This means that the larvae that hatch first eat the best things that come their way. And that can also be the nutritious sibling eggs right next door. Unfortunately, this can decimate a clutch of eggs by around half. The larvae usually hatch at the same time.
When there is no more meat
In times of war and famine, we humans also become creative when it comes to alternative food. And ladybugs also have to switch to other foods when the usual food supply is scarce in some years. When aphids, scale insects, etc. run out, ladybugs find the emergency solution in plant food. Fruits and pollen in particular then replace the otherwise protein-containing insect food with their sweet energy.
There is even a species of Coccinellinae, the Bulaea lichatschovi, whose larvae basically eat a vegetarian diet, namely pollen.
Even more useful preferences
As if pest control wasn't enough of a help for the hobby gardener, some species of ladybirds also curb plant diseases through their diet. Species of the tribes Halyziini and Psylloborini conveniently feed on mildew and mold and can therefore bring relief to diseased plants. Fungal species that occur in this country are primarily the sixteen-spotted ladybird and the yellow twenty-two-spotted ladybird.
Species with harmful feeding habits
You shouldn't believe it, but there are actually species of ladybirds that are classified as pests because of their eating habits. Because some species generally feed on plants, not on pollen, but on the leaves of useful and ornamental plants.
The most relevant herbivore ladybirds in this country include the twenty-four-spot ladybird. He is particularly interested in clove plants, such as soapwort and campion, cloves, clover, alfalfa, turnips and potatoes. It only eats the tops of the leaves, but can cause more damage.
How to Attract Ladybugs
The thing about attracting pests is a bit of a paradox - after all, ladybugs prefer to come to places where there are lots of aphids to eat. Promoting aphids that you actually want to decimate is initially a contradiction. But you can solve this by reserving an extra zone in the garden for ladybugs - and aphids. By letting a back corner of your garden go wild and allowing aphids to develop freely there, you can also get enough ladybirds, which, thanks to their mobility, can then also be useful in the rest of the cultivated garden.
Given the predominantly beneficial feeding habits of ladybugs, you naturally want them to do so
