Ladybug Larvae LOVE (eating) Aphids
Some Ladybugs were shooed out the door, some into the vacuum. Then a neighbor reminded me that these indoor pests EAT APHIDS. The rest of them were quickly swept right downstairs to the greenhouse, and deposited onto the potato leaves.
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The Beginning: Healthy happy potato leaves with happy healthy aphids.
Asian Ladybug Beetles on patrol on the potato leaves.
Note aphid farmer (ant) on leaf in lower center part of photo.
Many more ants began to take up residence. I used dry corn grits scattered on the ground and leaves. The idea is that the ants feed on the dry grits and somehow as the grits expand in their body moisture, it explodes them. Hopefully (for sadistic gardeners) the ants take the grits back to their Queen and the grits kill her too. End of ant colony and their tended crop of aphids (in theory).
Undiagnosed disease or other destruction of potato leaf, obviously pretty worn out by continued aphid predation.
Enter intrepid, wonderful hungry Ladybug beetle larvae. They have nothing to do but eat and grow bigger. Unlike their adult version, they can't go flying off. So they walk and eat and eat and I hardly see any aphids on the leaves anymore. Well, there are plenty more on other greenhouse plants.
So gently and tenderly, I've been moving a few to the Carrot leaves nearby which are aphid-inundated. Hopefully they'll find the Salsify next to that which is like an aphid magnet. I'd like to find a way to get the larvae to some of the other plants which are in pots in the greenhouse that need the larvaes' help - but I am cautious about trapping the guys inside a plastic pot. They may not be able to move to get more food elsewhere when they need it.
Kudos to you. Ladybug larvae, you are doing a wonderful job!
Some of the plants where the infestation started were looking pretty bleak.
I don't see any aphids or LadyBug Larvae in the outside garden yet. I'm sure that its too cold and too early in the season for them. I'm just so grateful that when the pests awoke early for the outside world, in the greenhouse warmth, their natural predators also awoke to enjoy the aphid feast.
This proves that it is true, in the natural system of gardening,
if you provide the feast, the guests will come.
So if we wait long enough with a pest in our midst,
a predatory species will be drawn to the garden buffet.
I wish that it always worked as well as in this instance. Remember, I stacked the deck with extra ladybugs. And it wasn't them, but their offspring who are doing the work. Therefore, this year I stocked up on wholesome "organic" type bug remedies, sprays and powders. We'll see how well I'm able to apply them as the season progresses.
May the beneficial insects come to your garden,
even if just for hors d'oeuvres - so you won't have to be overrun by pests
to be helped by Nature's Balancing Mysteries.
