Let's talk Lady Birds.

[Peppa Pig]

Ladybirds are so cute, and helpful.
There is a place called Beltinge in Kent, on the sea front. If you go there on the right day in the summer something amazing happends. Thousands of ladybirds come over on the wind from the continent and you get covered with them.
So.. last yr we stood there and got covered and then drove home covered in them and transported them to our beans. B4 that I used a very very diluted ecover/ water waterspray and fine nozzle and sprayed the beans.

Later on in the yr when the runner beans where put in I planted candulla seads ( not sure about the name) I got from Lidl and when they came up they attracted lots of insects that wanted to have a munch. I still had to get the Ecowashyupstuffout though.
We always feed the birds wild seed as sparrows and other little ones are great at picking of blackfly

Ho Hum and Buzz buzz and all that

[Peggy Sue]

The ladybirds on my broad beans are obviously on a diet because they are doing nothing to control the hordes of blackfly, neither is the jam working (attracts the ants but aphids still thriving) and the shoots which I haven't pinched out yet are shrivelling up and dying. No time at the moment and so much to do but I'll do some soapy water squidging when I get a chance. They are all so stunted anyway, one is only 6 inches tall and I haven't needed to bother with any string to support them! Ho well if it keeps them off me peas.....

This was exactly what happened last year to me, this year there are so many lady birds I haven't even had to pinch tops out. Have faith they will arrive

[Millymollymandy]

You must be joking the ladybirds have buggered off! I've soapy sprayed and now even the 2nd sowing of broad beans (about 6" tall) are getting blackfly. Oh well if it works as a magnet to keep em off other things.....

[spymurph]

I agree that there are more ladybirds although I have just banished another crop of dandelions so they may disappear again. I have noticed quite a few on my fruit bushes, especially the currants... do they particularly like them?

[Millymollymandy]

I can't believe it, after posting this morning that the ladybirds had disappeared what did I see all over my broad beans but their larvae, I counted 20 then got bored of counting! I've never seen so many before!!! Hopefully they'll move to the young plants too as one of them has got GREENfly on it!!!

[grubbysoles]

Hi, so glad to have found a ladybird discussion going on! I have squillions of baby lady birds crawling around on my compost bins and water butts. I really need them to be on my apple trees, where there are squillions of aphids camping under the leaves. Can I just move the babies over to the apple trees, or should I not disturb them until they've turned into proper ladybirds? They don't have wings yet, they just look like funny little stripey bugs. In fact, I only know they are baby ladybirds because I looked the funny little stripey bugs up in a book then realised what they are.

If I put them on the apple trees now, before they are grown up, will they survive, or will something awful happen? There are quite a lot of ants on the trees, too, and I've read they can be a menace to ladybirds. Will the ants eat the babies? I'm worried that if I wait for them to turn into proper ladybirds they'll all bugger off somewhere and I won't be able to find any for my apple trees!

[MKG]

Ants will defend aphids and will, if necessary, attempt to kill the intruder. If there were no ants around you could safely transfer your larvae, but if the ants are already there, there's absolutely no point.

Mike

[Millymollymandy]

Mine are running around happily together and the ladybird larvae are munching away obviously not deterred by the ants.

You could try what I've been doing and that's to put jam down in saucers for the ants, that way they get more interested in the jam and less interested in milking the aphids so there are fewer around to protect their aphids. That's the theory anyway.

So I'd say go for it as you have nothing to lose!

[grubbysoles]

Thanks Mike & MMM. I'll spend saturday putting out saucers of jam and transferring baby ladybirds. Yet again, my neighbours will be wondering what the hell I'm up to.

[Gem]

Don't lacewings eat aphids as well? I'm sure I have seen them happily eating away amongst my broad beans.

[MKG]

They certainly do. Ladybirds and lacewings in the air, ground beetles on ... ermmm ... the ground. Munch, munch, munch. Nasties gone. At least, that's how it's supposed to go. Add a woodpecker for ants and frogs and thrushes for slugs and snails and you should have a garden paradise.

Except for those bloody wasps.

Mike

[Peppa Pig]

Ladybirds are such brilliant little things. I was showing my 2 yr old one today on my arm, then we put him down on my beans and off waddled the ickle bug.(yes they really do waddle ) Dot couldnt say ladybird so they are now called bogs
Wasps! I know exactly what you mean!

[grubbysoles]

Yes, ladybirds are fab. And they have the added bonus of being very pretty and child-friendly A nice beginner-bug that they won't be scared of.

MMM - I put the jam out and the ants have swarmed over it, hurrah! Myself and 3-year old daughter had a baby ladybird transfer session yesterday, scooping them up off the compost bins and plopping them on the apple trees. Lovely. I think they need to add a ladybird smilie to the selection on here.

[Millymollymandy]

Goodo, and it's a great way to use up old jam (that's if you have any). My ants are enjoying 4 year old cucumber and ginger jam.

Last summer suddenly some swarms of bees decided to head for the jam over a period of a couple of weeks and there was me putting out jam just for them to keep them happy! They didn't half get through it quickly!

[Peppa Pig]

Thats v interesting about the jam and so on.I wonder if wasps have a favourite jam?
I know that sounds daft but is it whichever has the highest fructose/sugar levels.
A bumble bee bumped into me today.

We have bought our v soon 2 b 2 a ladybird game by orchard toys for her birthday. Cant wait to see what she makes of it. Gosh they grow soo quickly! Luv Orchard toys as they are mostly made of cardboard and can be composted once theyv been ripped to shreads.