Ladybug
Scientific Name: Coccinellidae
Ladybugs are a common garden insect that are beneficial to your garden!
How to identify:
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Typically have a red back, with a number of black spots on it.
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Eye area is typically white and black.
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It is interesting to note that some ladybugs commonly found in eastern Ontario have no spots on their back.
Benefits:
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They are a natural predator of garden pests such as aphids, leafhoppers and other soft-bodied insects.
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On top of removing pests from your garden, these bugs provide visual beauty to your botanical area.
How to keep your garden ladybug friendly:
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Certain plants such as dill, cilantro, caraway, cosmos, geraniums and coreopsis attract ladybugs to your garden.
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Limit use of synthetic insecticides towards garden pests, as this limits the food source of the ladybugs. Once their food source is gone, ladybugs will no longer lay eggs in your garden which will diminish the population of this natural predator to your garden pests.
How this relates to conservation:
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If insecticides are too frequently used on garden pests, the food source for ladybugs is being reduced which will in turn diminish the population of ladybugs. Therefore, it is important to promote the population of predators in your garden, which will naturally get rid of your garden pests.
