Apr 20, 2022
Who doesn't love a ladybug?
Call them ladybugs, call them ladybirds, call them lady beetles, call them Coccinellidae, or just call them aphid eaters or deluxe aphid eaters.
Or Joey Chestnut. Or Josephine Chestnut.
They'll polish off the aphids and other soft-bodied insects on your roses, beans, cabbage, potatoes, milkweed and other plants.
They work for free, from dawn to dusk. Aphids suck the plant juices from leaves and stems. And right back atcha, lady beetles suck the aphids.
Want to learn about lady (and gentleman) beetles, or want to take a couple of these beloved beetles home (for free)? Head over to the UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management (UC IPM) tables at Briggs Hall during the 108th annual UC Davis Picnic Day on Saturday, April 23. The Briggs Hall entomological activities open at 9 a.m. and end at 5 p.m.
Karey Windbiel-Rojas, associate director for Urban and Community IPM and area Urban IPM advisor, says the IPM tables will be inside the Briggs Hall Courtyard (or atrium). (See UC IPM information on lady beetles.)
"In addition to the lady beetles, we will have books and other publications, and information sheets on both endemic and invasive pests with experts on hand to answer questions," she said. "We will have temporary tattoos on invasive beetles and items to give away."
And while you're at Briggs Hall, check out the insect-related displays and activities planned and coordinated by entomology doctoral candidate Danielle Rutkowski of the UC Davis Graduate Student Association. The events range from Roach Races (cheer on your favorite roach) to Maggot Art (dip a maggot in non-toxic, water-based paint and create a masterpiece worthy of framing--or at least, it can join your refrigerator art).
Bugs rule.
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Attached Images:
A lady beetle, aka ladybug, devouring aphids in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Elaine Lander, urban and community IPM educator with the UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program, talks to a youngster about lady beetles, aka ladybugs, at the 2019 UC Davis Picnic Day. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Karey Windbiel-Rojas, associate director for Urban and Community IPM and area Urban IPM advisor, answers a question at the 2019 UC Davis Picnic Day. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)