The main enemy of aphids is the ladybug, the stages of its development. Ladybug

You can always find them not only in the village, but also in city parks and gardens.
Ladybug is completely safe for humans. You can put it on your hand, and it will warm itself with pleasure in your palm. According to ancient beliefs, the cow, scientifically called coccinellida, is directly connected with God, she lives in heaven and only occasionally descends to earth. At the same time, she plays the role of a real messenger, you can find out from her what the weather will be like, whether the harvest will be successful, etc.

They say that she was the wife of the god of thunder and as a result of a conflict with her husband she was turned into an insect along with her children, who became the days of the week and at the same time black dots on her scarlet outfit. The French now call her the animal of God, the Germans call her the sheep of God, the British call her the beetle of Our Lady. Yes, and we have it Ladybug.

Another, less well-known name is Moses' cow (and again, religious motives!). Moreover, the divinity of this small beetle is also emphasized in other cultures: in Germany it is called Marienkaefer (beetle of the Holy Virgin Mary), in England - Ladybird (Lady Bird, bird of the Virgin), in Argentina - St. Anthony's Cow.

Despite the idyllic name, it is an insect, a predator that applies to all ladybugs. middle lane. The basis of the menu of adult cows is made up of sedentary mass insects, which are easy to get: aphids, mealybugs, whiteflies and spider mites of the most various kinds. This preference is not accidental, because cows are very voracious and can eat up to 100-150 pieces of mites or aphids daily. Ladybug larvae feed exclusively on aphids, eating up to 60 (if adults) or 300 aphid larvae daily. Over the entire period of development of a ladybug, the number of aphids eaten by her is in the thousands.

Long, elongated ladybug larvae, a bit like small leeches, are often found in clusters of aphids, not far from the "generous table" ... Like adult relatives, they are inedible for birds, so they behave rather carelessly. Their invulnerability is indicated by bright orange or red spots on the discreet main background of the larva.

Ladybugs are very prolific, and the number of offspring is directly related to the amount of potential food. If usually one female lays 200-400 eggs, then in "feeding" years the number of eggs can reach 1500-1700!

Several ladybugs with their offspring may well clear a small garden plot. In addition, in the middle of summer, when there is less food, ladybugs may well diversify the “menu” with small caterpillars, herbivorous bugs and larvae of small beetles, which is also valuable for gardeners and gardeners.

Among the exploits of ladybugs, one can recall the rescue of citrus plantations around the world by them, dying from the invasion of the Australian grooved mealybug, among the rescued plantations were citrus plantations of the then Soviet Caucasus. In addition, in the same Transcaucasia, a cow brought from Australia - Lindor keeps in check the scale insects that damage mulberry trees. One type of ladybug protects alfalfa fields from pests. It should also be mentioned that these insects are migratory, like birds, and are able to migrate to places that most need their presence. For the winter, they hide under stones or in other places. cozy places, often forming large clusters.

Due to their unpretentiousness, high fecundity, tolerance for the "society" of their own kind and very beneficial food specialization for people, ladybugs have become quite a popular object for biological protection in agriculture. It is possible that someday they will be bred in the same quantity as bees and silkworms are now bred.

The origin of the name "cow" is most likely related to biological feature bug: he can give milk, and not ordinary, but red! Such a liquid is released in case of danger from the pores on the folds of the limbs.
Milk is extremely unpleasant in taste (and even deadly in large doses!) And scares off predators who see their potential dinner in a cow. The same task is performed by the bright coloring, which speaks of the inedibility of the winged ladybug. The protective "techniques" of the bug are very effective: even tarantula spiders do not feed on it!

There is still no consensus on the origin of the name ladybug. But the signs and legends associated with these winged bugs are alive to this day. Stepping on or harming a cow is a great sin. So, maybe there really is something divine in it?

People love ladybugs. And how can you not love them? They are cute, like little buttons with a tiny red shell and black spots. It is considered good luck if a ladybug sits on your hand or you see her in your house. Plus, they are absolutely harmless to humans. Farmers love ladybugs because they feed on insect pests such as aphids.

But relatives for North America ladybug species are slowly disappearing, and scientists don't know why.

One theory is that non-native species such as the seven-spotted ladybug from Europe and the Asian species harmonia axyridis, successfully became widespread in North America, which led to the displacement of local ladybugs. Another theory says that invasive species are also on the decline, so the extinction may just be part of a natural cycle.

10 little-known facts about the ladybug:

Fact 1. Not all ladybugs are red with black spots. Despite the fact that this insect color is the most common, this does not mean the absence of other color variations. There are about 5,000 species of ladybugs in the world. They come in yellow, orange, brown, pink, or even completely black. Some types of ladybugs do not have spots at all, or they merge with each other (see photo above).

Fact 2. According to legend, in the Middle Ages, cereal crops in Europe suffered from pests, so farmers began to pray to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Soon they noticed ladybugs, with the appearance of which, the crops were miraculously saved from pests. Farmers associated their happiness with red-black beetles, which later became the reason for the divine name of the insect.

Fact 3. Like many other insects, ladybugs use aposematic (repellent) color to signal potential predators of their toxicity. Insectivorous birds and other animals have learned to avoid insects with bright red and black colors, and it is likely that the ladybug is on their list of dangerous foods.

Fact 4. In case of danger, the joints of the legs of a ladybug secrete a fetid yellowish liquid that scares away their main enemies. Ladybug larvae can secrete a protective fluid from their abdomen.

Fact 5. During its life, a ladybug is able to eat more than 5,000 aphids. Nearly all ladybugs feed on soft-bodied insects and serve as beneficial predators to protect agricultural plants from pests. Gardeners welcome ladybugs with open arms, as they exterminate the most prolific pests. Cows feed on mealybugs, whiteflies, mites and aphids. A hungry adult ladybug can eat up to 50 aphids a day.

Fact 6. Ladybug larva with an elongated body and bumpy skin, resembles a tiny alligator. If you don't know what ladybug larvae look like, chances are you never suspected that the strange creatures in the photo above are young ladybugs. The larvae feed and grow for a month, consuming hundreds of aphids and other insects a day at this stage of development.

Fact 7. Scientists believe that ladybugs lay both fertilized and unfertilized eggs. Why do they expend the energy needed to produce eggs that do not produce offspring? Infertile eggs are a valuable food source for larvae hatched from fertilized eggs. During famine periods, the ladybug increases the number of infertile eggs, giving the larvae a better chance of survival.

Fact 8. Adult ladybugs hibernate, as a rule, gathering in a shelter in a large cluster. When the days get shorter and the air temperature drops, they take shelter under bark, leaves, or other sheltered places. Thousands of ladybugs may congregate in one place to take advantage of the collective warmth. The Asian varicoloured ladybug, an invasive species in North America, has earned a reputation as a home invader. These beetles have a habit of hiding for the winter indoors, where they can become a serious nuisance to humans. Convergent ladybugs gather in the mountains in such aggregations that they can be collected in buckets.

Fact 9. Ladybugs practice cannibalism. If there is not enough food, these insects will do their best to survive, even if they have to eat their relatives. A hungry ladybug will eat any larva of its kind that gets in its way.

Fact 10. It is not possible to judge the age of a ladybug based on the number of spots. These black spots on the back of the insect have nothing to do with its age, considering them, you will just have fun, but no more. However, in some cases, you can identify the species of ladybugs by looking at the number and position of the markings. For example, the seven-spotted ladybug has seven black spots on its red back.

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The Latin name of the ladybug sounds like "coccineus" - which means "scarlet". It was the catchy bright color that served as the basis for such a name.

IN different countries this bug is called differently, but each of the names indicates folk love and respect for it.

Latin Americans call it "St. Anthony's cow", Germans and Swiss - "Virgin Mary's bug", Czechs and Slovaks - "Sun", and Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians - "Ladybug". Let's find out what this insect brings to ours - benefit or harm, where it lives and what it eats.

Description and types

A beautiful beetle with spots on its wings - all the inhabitants of the country know this insect very well and have seen them more than a dozen times in their gardens.

The length of the body of the beetle is from 5 to 8 mm. In our country, the most common ladybug with seven points on the shell ("Seven-pointed"). The elegant bug got its nickname for seven dark spots on scarlet wings.
Periodically there are beetles painted unusually: with yellowish wings and dark dots, or black with white spots on the shell, or even without dots at all.

There may be more or less than seven specks; the color of the elytra can also be in several variants. Around the world, there are about five thousand species of ladybugs.

The ladybug feeds in nature and shell and how it saves gardens and. Cows of the insect world are formidable fighters of aphids living on the back side of the leafy plates of garden and.

Did you know? In many countries, there is such a line of agricultural business as breeding ladybugs. Farmers are seriously involved in these beneficial insects, the entire development cycle of bugs is under strict control. In the future, insects are sold to farmers and the bill goes to thousands of individuals in each batch. Aphid hunters are sold both in the country where they were raised and sent by mail around the world.

Life cycle features

Adult members of the family live and winter in open field, hiding in dry rolled leaves or under dried blades of grass. With the onset of heat, it is time to breed, and the beetles lay a clutch of 10-20 eggs.
Masonry is attached either on the bark of vertical branches, or on inside leaf blade, near the aphid settlement. From eggs to adulthood, insects gradually go through four stages.

The larvae of these insects have a brown-gray color, as the time of pupation approaches, the color of the cover changes to pale yellow. When the young beetle emerges from the pupa, it needs a little time for the elytra to finally acquire a scarlet color.

From laying eggs to the release of an adult beetle in the summer, 40-60 days pass. The biological significance of a ladybug can hardly be overestimated: only one female beetle destroys up to four thousand aphids throughout her life, thereby saving plants that occupy half a hectare of land from destruction.

Familiar to everyone since childhood, a funny bug with red wings in a small dot in one day can destroy a little more than 150-170 individuals of leaf-sucking aphids.

Important! The larva of this beetle does not have a very attractive appearance - it is a strange creature without wings and with bright dots on its back. If you see such a monster on your loved ones or - do not rush to destroy it, soon this larva will turn into a cute colorful bug.

What is the use

The benefits that a ladybug brings are noticeable to the naked eye, you just have to look closely, for example, at cucumbers. back side leaf is dotted with aphids actively sucking leaf juice.

If they are left alone, after four days the leaves will completely dry out and the plant will die. But scarlet hunters begin their work, and cucumber plantations will be cleared of in a day.
It is the presence on these carnivorous insects that solves the problems with the destruction of aphid colonies on berry bushes, fruit trees, on and . The ability to do without chemical treatments will allow you to safely eat a ripe fruit crop and.

Some gardeners in early spring, seeing small colonies of aphids on some plants, they immediately begin to resort to destroying them with pesticides. It is not necessary to completely destroy aphids on plants, because adult ladybugs will die without food.

With the onset of autumn, it is not necessary to ideally clean the garden and vegetable garden from fading plant debris, because in the absence of dry fallen leaves, empty birdhouses or heaps of brushwood left for the winter, ladybugs will have nowhere to safely wait out the cold period.

Did you know? There is such a sign that portends close luck in something: if a ladybug lands on your palm, then you can expect unexpected joy, good luck. In no case do they shake off an arriving insect from the hand, so as not to shake off luck, but wait until it flies away of its own accord.

Is there any harm

Although the benefits of the activity of beetles significantly exceed the harm they cause, it still exists. Not everything that ladybugs eat is good for the plant world.

Since the bug is a predatory and carnivorous insect, in addition to aphids, it can also eat other insects useful for the garden and garden.

There are several types of ladybugs that cause significant damage to cultural plantings:

Lives in hot countries (Africa, Asia, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan). It is also ubiquitous in some European countries.

It does a lot of crop damage. Our climate is not suitable for melon ladybugs due to harsh winters.
- is a real "scourge of God" for landings, and in the Amur Region, Khabarovsk Territory and on the Sakhalin Peninsula.

In some places, such a bug is called a potato ladybug. This insect not only harms the crop, vegetables and, but also spreads viral plant diseases when flying from field to field.
, or multi-colored Asian - aggressive and voracious creatures, farmers of North America, Western Europe and England are in a panic from this type of beetle. In 1988, these insects were brought to North America.

With their help, it was supposed to establish biocontrol over the immoderately spreading aphids. But this species destroys not only aphids, but also members of its own species, and today has become the most common species in the United States and Great Britain.
Biologists of these countries are sounding the alarm - the remaining 46 species of ladybirds, which were previously ubiquitous, have almost disappeared.

Important! A gardener who wants to keep the population of these elegant bugs on his territory needs to remember that any cultivation of the garden will lead to the death of not only harmful insects. Pests after the treatment with pesticides quickly restore their numbers, but beneficial beetles multiply more slowly.

How to attract ladybugs

Attracting beetles to your garden or garden is not easy, but possible. To do this, you need to plant plants that attract this insect to settle in your territory.

Gardeners have long noticed that these bugs are lured towards them by the smell of planting,.

Experienced gardeners leave to handsome beetles convenient places for wintering - if such shelters are prepared deliberately and in corners convenient for insects, then insects willingly remain in them to winter.
A well-known trick: after harvesting, dry peelings of corn heads are tied into bundles and such “bouquets” are hung in the garden or on

Every year in a particular region of the world there is an invasion of cute bugs - ladybugs. In pagan culture, they were considered messengers of the sun goddess, who gives light, harvest and new life. To see a lot of ladybugs meant to get a rich crop of grain. Any meeting with a ladybug promises success in business. This year, Finns and Estonians have been so lucky. According to local entomologists, the insects arrived in Finland and Estonia from Russia in search of food. About six years ago there was a similar invasion on the Riga seaside.

1. In Russia, she is called "God's Maryushka" or the sun, in Western Europe - God's sheep, solar calf, solar bug. In Latvia, the bug bears the name of Marita in honor of the ancient Latvian goddess Mary, the patroness of mother earth and earthly strength, in Israel - the cow of St. Moses, in France - the “hen of God”. In America, they believe that if you even inadvertently kill a ladybug, expect trouble.

2. There is an assumption that ladybugs used to be called "lady's blood", as they look like droplets of blood.

3. Ladybugs are only beetles that have a red or yellow shell, decorated with seven or five dots. Ladybugs come in a variety of colors: pink, yellow, white, orange, and even black. The cows also include those who have commas, a dash, the letter “M” or even an ornament on their backs. They can have specks from 2 to 28, and they are designed to scare away predators. True, such species - once or twice and miscalculated. In total, there are more than 4,000 species of these bugs in nature.

4. Several hundred species of ladybugs live in Latvia, the most common of which is the seven-spotted ladybug, which is the emblem of the Latvian Society of Entomologists, and ten years ago it was recognized as the national symbol of Latvia.

5. Ladybugs are a great natural pesticide, most of them feed on mites and aphids, and only a few of them eat plants exclusively. A pair of ladybugs can destroy up to 4,000 in their lifetime. spider mites. Ladybug larvae are very voracious. During their development to the size of an adult, they eat up to 1,000 aphids.

The 6.28-spot ladybug is a vegetarian and a pest: it eats potatoes, clover, and beets.

7. One of the species of ladybug - rhodolia - is famous for saving citrus plantations in California, Florida, Algeria, France, Japan, New Zealand, on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus, when they were attacked terrible pest, brought from Australia - a grooved worm that was not even afraid of hydrocyanic acid. People brought rhodolia from Australia, which from time immemorial fought with the grooved mealybug. This black-patterned red ladybug attacks females, especially egg sacs, making short work of them.

8. Ladybug lives up to two years.

9. With the help of radar, scientists were able to track the flight of ladybugs. It turned out that most of them fly at an altitude of 150 to 500 meters, but some rise to a height of 1,100 meters. average speed their flight is 30 kilometers per hour, individual ladybugs accelerate to 60 kilometers per hour. One flight of ladybugs lasts from half an hour to two. Therefore, the most successful individuals can move 120 kilometers at a time. That is, there are no barriers to the resettlement of ladybugs.

10. During breeding, the mating process in bugs can last up to 10 hours, moreover, not once a day, every day in a row. The purpose of such a long act of love is to keep other bugs away from the female. The amount of sperm is enough to fertilize 500 eggs. The female lays about 20 eggs at a time, over 1,000 eggs for the entire season.

11. Ladybugs are inherent in ailments that are sexually transmitted from males to females. Coccipolipus is a tick that overtakes the latter, after which they cannot produce offspring.

12. To scare away its enemies - spiders, frogs and birds, ladybugs secrete cantharidin from the joints of the legs - a poisonous, sharp-smelling yellow liquid.

13. Our ancestors stuffed a living insect into a sore tooth or rubbed their gums with a crushed bug. Thrifty healers kept ladybugs in winter in a perforated box with grass and earth, and homeopaths made an extract from 80 bugs in one ounce of alcohol.

14. In the old days, ladybugs were saved from measles. A blister plaster was made from scarlet insects. Professor Pavel Marikovsky, in his book Secrets of the Insect World, wrote that the beetle patch had an effect forty years after it was made.

15. There are many secrets in the life of ladybugs. Scientists have not figured out why they are going to "gatherings." Biologist and hunter Oleg Gusev, who met the bugs on the shore of Lake Baikal, calculated that 600,000 ladybugs of 10 species were sitting on each kilometer. Insects especially densely stuck around the stones near the water itself.

16. In Japan, where aphids cause considerable damage to fields and gardens, ladybugs are grown in the laboratory and then released into the wild. Insects in the laboratory are groomed and cherished. And they are not even fed with aphids, but with high-calorie bee larvae. Cows do not remain in debt - they began to give two thousand offspring per year (usually they lay 200-400 eggs).

17. In the 50s, a company that harvested ladybugs for future use began to flourish in the United States. Sleeping insects wintering somewhere in the mountains were put into canvas bags with a capacity of nine kilograms (about 80,000 individuals) and stored at 4-6 degrees Celsius. In the summer, farmers who did not want to resort to pesticides bought cows for $6-8 a kilogram to control pests. Only gardeners in Washington state in 1946 purchased five tons of bugs.

18. In recent years, harlequin ladybugs from East Asia have been massively advancing on Europe, eating local species of ladybugs. At the same time, it turned out that Asians secrete a caustic liquid, under the influence of which 12 types of pathogens die, including the causative agent of tuberculosis - Koch's bacillus, strains of Staphylococcus aureus resistant to antibiotics.

19. In honor of the ladybug, monuments were erected in the USA - in New York and the suburbs of Milwaukee, in Japan - in Tokyo, in South Korea- in Seoul, in the capital of Poland - Warsaw, in the French town of Millau and in Russia - in Volgograd.

This is interesting!

Probably everyone knows this cute little red bug with black spots or dots on the wings. In Russia, it has long been called - ladybug. The name "God's" most likely comes from the fact that this bug gives the impression of a gentle and touching creature. By analogy, "God's man" is the name given to gullible and harmless people.

And this cow cute bug is also called for a reason. At the slightest danger, droplets of an orange milky liquid appear on the folds of his legs. True, this “milk” tastes unpleasant, but it is not intended to be drunk. This liquid repels enemies that ladybugs also have.

The ladybug in most European languages ​​​​has a name similar in meaning or is called the ladybug of the Mother of God, and in Israel - the cow of Moses. In many languages ​​there is also a counting rhyme similar to ours, in which they ask to fly to heaven and bring bread.

Another, less well-known name is the cow of Moses (and again, religious motives!). Moreover, the divinity of this small beetle is emphasized in other cultures:

in Germany- this is "Marienkaefer" - the bug of the Virgin Mary;

in England, USA, Canada, other English-speaking countries - Ladybird (bird of Our Lady), Lady-beetle (bee of Our Lady), Ladybug (bug of Our Lady);

in France- poulette a Dieu - which translates as "chicken of God" ...

It is impossible to list all modern countries and languages, but in all our “ladybug” is called some animal or insect belonging to God, the Mother of God, or at least one of the saints (as in Argentina - “Saint Anthony's ladybug”) or pagan gods. There are other names, but they are also associated with heaven.

Another hypothesis for the origin of the epithet "divine" due to the fact that earlier this adjective was used in the meaning of "peaceful, meek, harmless." This bug is considered to be herbivorous, but in fact it is a predator, however, useful. The most common, seven-spotted ladybug eats aphids that are harmful cultivated plants. So she could get such a name for saving crops from the invasion of pests.

There are about 5,000 species of ladybugs in the world. They come in yellow, orange, brown, pink, or even completely black. Some species of ladybug do not have spots at all.

According to legend, in the Middle Ages, crops of grain crops in Europe suffered from pests, so farmers began to pray. Soon they noticed ladybugs, with the appearance of which, the crops were miraculously saved from pests. Farmers associated their happiness with red-black beetles, which later became the reason for the divine name of the insect.

Gardeners welcome ladybugs with open arms, as they exterminate the most prolific pests. Cows feed on mealybugs, whiteflies, mites and aphids. A hungry adult ladybug can eat up to 50 aphids a day. Many are specially bred for this purpose.

One of the species of ladybug - rhodolia - is famous for the fact that saved citrus plantations in California, Florida, Algeria, France, Japan, New Zealand, on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus, when they were attacked by a terrible pest brought from Australia - a grooved worm that was not afraid of even hydrocyanic acid. People brought rhodolia from Australia, which from time immemorial fought with the grooved mealybug. This black-patterned red ladybug attacks females, especially egg sacs, making short work of them.

During the flight, the ladybug makes 85 wing beats per second.

Spots on ladybugs are designed to scare away predators.

Ladybugs are perennial insects and during the winter they live only on stocks accumulated over the summer.

Interesting fact ladybugs come in many colors: pink, yellow, white, orange, and even black.

The older the ladybug, the fewer spots on her back.

Depending on the species, a ladybug can lay up to 2,000 eggs in her lifetime.

Ladybugs are a great natural pesticide and are even bred for this purpose. They eat aphids, which are the enemy of plants.

When a ladybug is attacked, it may squirt a scented liquid from the knee joints of its legs. The scent alerts birds and predators that the ladybug is poisonous.

Did you know that ladybugs are also known for their ability to pretend to be dead in order to fool a predator and save their lives.

Ladybug flight in slow motion

- For scientists, the annual flight of ladybugs for the winter is still a mystery. Bugs always return to once chosen places. It is impossible to explain this phenomenon by the good memory of the insect, because due to the short duration of their life, new generations return to the old wintering places.