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Ladybugs


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Ladybug Research
by Billy, 2W, in Australia

Ladybug Research
by Jared, 2C, in Canada

Ladybeetles come in three different colours red, yellow and orange.They have black spots on their backs and six legs. The redder the ladybeetle the older it is.

Most ladybeetles' favourite food is aphids but others prefer caterpillars and plants.

Their eggs are yellow and they can lay 50 to 1000 in a lifespan.

In hotter weather the ladybeetle migrates to higher ground.

There are more than 3000 different species around the world.

Bibliography :

The Ladybird
By Cécile Duval
Franklin Watts
ISBN 0-7496-0375-5 

Research by Billy of 2W
helped by Mikah of 6H

Things We Know About Ladybugs

1. They play dead to trick their enemies.
2. They squirt a yucky yellow juice out of their joints to protect themselves.
3. A ladybug can eat more than 200 aphids a day.
4. A ladybug has a complete life cycle.
5. In Alberta, you can find ladybugs with 28 spots.
6. There are ladybugs without spots at all.
7. There are about 3,000 species of ladybugs in the world.
8. Female ladybugs are bigger than the male ladybugs.
9. The 2 spotted ladybug can beat its wings between 75 to 90 times per second.
which are faster than a hummingbird.
10. Ladybugs are also called ladybird beetles.

Research by Jared of 2C
helped by the rest of the class

This story was sent to us by Mrs L Cena of 2C,
Corinthia Park School , Alberta, Canada.

Ladybird Beetles to the Rescue!

"Help" called the fruit growers in California. Their orange trees were being attacked by cottony scale insects. The insects were multiplying rapidly and because they were so numerous they were destroying the trees by sucking the juices from the leaves and stems.

It was the early 1880's and the orange trees were just getting started in southern California. Unfortunately, the cottony scale insects had been accidentally introduced from Australia and were most unwelcome pests. In 1888, Albert Koebele, an entomologist, who worked with US Agriculture, sailed from San Francisco to Australia to find out why the cottony scale insect wasn't killing all the trees in Australia. He was a remarkably keen observer and discovered a species of ladybird beetle, called Vedalia cardinalis, that was eating cottony scale insects. As quickly as he could, he collected some and sent them back to California. Only 28 survived that first long journey. Koebele continued to send other batches and in time about 500 ladybirds were received by a fellow entomologist (D. W. Coquillett) who cared for them and reared 10,000 to distribute to the fruit growers.

This was the first time, instead of using insecticides, that an introduction of beneficial insects was tried and it worked. The ladybird beetles dined and thrived on the scale insects and the orange trees were saved!

A true event as told by Pat Wishart

from the book,
"Knee High Nature, Spring in Alberta"
by Dianne Hayley and Pat Wishart,
ill. by Jo-El Berg

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Elanora Heights Primary School Computer Co-ordinator : Judith Bennett

This page was last modified on 28th October, 1998