Part IV : Release of the Ladybugs!
The main predator of the aphid is the ladybug. You can buy hundreds of ladybugs and have a kid friendly activity at the same time. They come in a package that you place in your refrigerator until you're ready to release them. When released at sundown (because they don't fly at night), ladybugs eat aphids, mealy bugs, scale, leaf hoppers, and other destructive pests.
My kids had a blast releasing them and watching them go. Whether they stayed in my yard and actually had any beneficial effects is unknown. My Crepe Myrtle is still looking pretty strong, so I'm guessing they helped it. But, they mostly moved on by now. It was fun, non-the-less!
If you are interested in purchasing some summer fun at Amazon.com --
Live Ladybugs - Hirt's Gardens - Approximately 1500
The large photo here is from when my kids released the ladybugs that Grandma purchased for them!
Here's a bit more info I learned about ladybugs while researching them for this series of info on crepe myrtles:
"Many people are fond of ladybugs because of their colorful, spotted appearance. But farmers love them for their appetite. Most ladybugs voraciously consume plant-eating insects, such as aphids, and in doing so they help to protect crops. Ladybugs lay hundreds of eggs in the colonies of aphids and other plant-eating pests. When they hatch, the ladybug larvae immediately begin to feed. By the end of its three-to-six-week life, a ladybug may eat some 5,000 aphids.
Ladybugs are also called lady beetles or, in Europe, ladybird beetles. There are about 5,000 different species of these insects, and not all of them have the same appetites. A few ladybugs prey not on plant-eaters but on plants. The Mexican bean beetle and the squash beetle are destructive pests that prey upon the crops mentioned in their names. Ladybugs appear as half-spheres, tiny, spotted, round or oval-shaped domes. They have short legs and antennae.
Their distinctive spots and attractive colors are meant to make them unappealing to predators. Ladybugs can secrete a fluid from joints in their legs which gives them a foul taste. Their coloring is likely a reminder to any animals that have tried to eat their kind before: "I taste awful." A threatened ladybug may both play dead and secrete the unappetizing substance to protect itself." [SOURCE: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/bugs/ladybug/]
PART I: About Crepe Myrtles a.k.a. Crape Myrtles
PART II: Crepe Murder
PART III: Aphids
PART IV: Release of the Ladybugs!
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