the essentials in brief
- In Germany, the Asian ladybird is widespread in addition to the seven-point and two-point ladybirds. All three species prefer aphids, although pollen and other insects are also eaten.
- In autumn, the last food offers are used to build up fat reserves. The insects feed on it during their Numbness.
- Larvae and adults eat the same food as adult beetles. Your need increases again in the last stage of development.
- The fluid balance is covered by food or water intake. In winter, moist hibernation quarters are important so that the beetles do not dry out.
Biodiversity in Germany.
There are around 80 species of ladybirds in Germany. The insects love warmth, which is why they are mainly found in tropical and subtropical regions. The Asian ladybird is an introduced species and makes life difficult for its native representatives because of its voracity.
also read
- What do the larvae of ladybirds look like?
- This is how ladybirds reproduce
- The best beneficial insects in the garden
Common types and their coloring:
- Asian ladybug: mostly light yellow but also dark red to almost black
- Seven-point ladybug: red wing with a total of seven dark spots
- Two-point ladybug: black with red dots or red with black dots
background
What the color says about food
At higher body temperatures, the metabolism works faster. Therefore, these specimens have to eat more food in the summer to avoid starvation. In winter, the black color turns out to be a disadvantage, because their fat reserves are used up faster due to the high conversion rate. As a result, more red ladybugs survive than black ladybugs.
What do ladybugs eat?
Ladybugs prefer to eat lice
The spotted insects are among the most effective pest fighters, because their diet consists mainly of lice sucking plant sap. When food becomes scarce, larvae and adult beetles develop into cannibals. They then prey on eggs and adults of their own species or from related individuals.
Wide range of foods:
- Bugs, Spider mites and fringed wings
- Larvae of beetles, sawfly and butterflies
- Leaves of crops such as potatoes or pods
- Powdery mildew and molds
- Fruits and pollen
Diet of the native species
The preferred diet of the common species differs slightly. First and foremost are aphids and fleas. The larvae of the Asian ladybird devour around 1,000 insects in their existence, while the seven-point ladybird is a little less voracious. Its offspring come to around 400 captured sap suckers during the entire development process. Adult specimens of the multi-colored ladybird eat 100 to 270 animals per day.
| eat something | mainly | occasionally | Rare |
|---|---|---|---|
| yellow ladybug | Aphids | soft-shelled insects, eggs and larvae | grapes |
| red ladybug | Aphids and small mite species | abandoned eggs | Bee pollen |
| black ladybug | Aphids and scale insects | Larvae of other ladybugs | plants |
Food supply in autumn
The last warm days offer the ladybirds opportunities to replenish their fat reserves before the long winter. You should therefore also leave withered plants until next spring if possible, because this is where the beetles look for food. Deadwood and rotten Tree bark are also good sources of food. Various insects and larvae cavort between the wood fibers looking for a place to spend the winter.
Autumn menu:
- Aphids and spider mites as usual
- Bedbugs as an alternative food
- Sawfly larvae and fringed winged fly as a valuable addition
The two-point ladybird flies north in autumn, because the temperatures here are constant during the winter months.
What do ladybugs eat in winter?
Ladybugs are cold-blooded insects that adapt their body temperature to their surroundings. This is necessary because the food supply is very limited during the cold season. The beetles do not eat any food during their winter rigor. They feed on fat reserves that they have built up in the warm months. If the crawlers wake up early from their resting phase, they cannot find enough food sources and often starve to death.
Youtube
Tips
If you want to help native species through the winter, provide the insects with a wooden box lined with leaves and branches as a retreat. The animals dry out quickly during the cold season, which is why they retreat into protective cavities.
What do baby ladybugs eat?
The larval diet does not differ from adult beetle preferences. Aphids and fleas as well as powdery mildew and mold are also on their menu. If the adult insects feed on leaves of various plants or pollen, these food sources are not spurned even by the offspring. Based on the eating habits, conclusions can be drawn about the typical habitats.
Where ladybugs live:
- on preferred plants such as carnations
- on flowering plants that produce a lot of pollen
- on ornamental and useful plants with aphid colonies or mold
Food requirements of the beetle larvae
Ladybug larvae also love aphids
In the course of development, the larvae become increasingly voracious. They kill most of the aphids in the last stage of development. If the ambient temperatures are high at this time, the food conversion increases additionally.
Tips
In order to encourage ladybugs, you should pay attention to a natural design of your garden. On the balcony, clay pots filled with dead wood and rotten tree bark provide an ideal retreat with additional food. Numerous microorganisms cavort in the wood.
Correlation between hunter and prey
Ladybird larvae are sensitive to the changes in numbers in the aphid colonies. Their populations regulate themselves depending on the aphids present. If there was an excessive number of sap suckers in one season, the number of ladybugs increases. If the prey is insufficient in the next year, the colonies of the spotted insects decimate again.
frequently asked Questions
What do ladybugs eat in the apartment?
Ladybugs often get lost in apartments through open windows and doors. The animals retire in roof beams or facade cracks to hibernate. This way, they can easily get indoors. If the insects appeared en masse on the window pane during the winter months, they were disturbed in their winter rigidity by warmer temperatures.
However, you won't find enough food in houses, so you should bring the crawlers back outside. If you want to help the beetles, put them in a wooden box with an entrance hole filled with rotten wood, stems and leaves. Put the box in a cool place so that the ladybugs fall into freezing conditions again.
What do ladybugs drink?
The small spotted insects have to replenish their fluid balance quickly, especially after the winter rigor, in order not to dry out. In nature, they drink water droplets that collect on the leaves. They cover part of their fluid needs by eating aphids.
You can help thirsty animals by using a pipette to drip a small drop of water right next to the beetle. They don't mind if you generously pollinate plants with a flower sprayer. Alternatively, you can also place moistened sponges, cloths or cotton balls in your self-made ladybug roost.
What do Asian ladybugs eat besides aphids?
Harmonia axyridis is a good example of the high success rate in pest control. The species was introduced by humans in Europe to deal with the massive aphid infestations in Greenhouses(€ 60.76 at Amazon *) bring under control. From here the multi-colored ladybird was able to escape into nature, where it has been spreading massively since then.
When aphids are not available, the beetles attack soft-shelled insects and larvae. In times of need they feed on pollen. In addition, eggs and adults from local ladybird larvae are on the menu.
How do ladybugs hibernate?
Ladybugs retire to a warm place in winter
So that the beetles survive the frosty winter, they retreat to protective niches. Conditions should be moist, frost-free and no warmer than eight degrees. Wall cracks, niches under tree bark or cavities under moss offer ideal quarters for wintering.
In the garden, the insects like to retreat in piles of leaves or in dead stalks of shrubs and grasses. Not infrequently they crawl through openings in the house facade or settle in rafters. If the temperatures rise in winter, the animals often gather in large numbers in houses and apartments.
Can i feed ladybugs in winter?
If the beetles wake up too early from their winter rigor due to mild temperatures, the food supply is usually too low. If the species are native, you can increase the animals' chances of survival by adding additional feeding. Foods that are sugary and rich in vitamins are suitable.
Offer the beetles honey, sugar water or syrup in a bottle cap. Dried fruits such as raisins, apricots or figs soaked in water are also ideal. Mild jams with a low acid content are also well received.
Important instructions:
- Beetles do not survive the winter in apartments
- sudden relocation of warm homes into the winter cold is fatal
- Crates filled with newspaper, wood shavings and leaves are good transition areas
- Crate should be placed in a frost-free room with openings to the outside
- Holes are used for ventilation and ensure the excursion in spring
