A lady bug lays about twenty bright yellow eggs in clusters on the undersides of leaves. The eggs hatch in 3 to 5 days, and the larvae feed for about 12 to 14 days. They then pupate on the leaves and sometimes resemble an unwanted pest. Adults emerge in five to six days.

The USDA made several releases throughout the US for aphid prevention. It lives in various trees, including maple, walnut, willow, and oak, and feeds on various aphids, certain scales, and a few other insects. In Oklahoma, it has been seen in abundance on hackberry and soapberry trees, wild hemlock plants, vinca, pokeweed, and even poison oak and poison ivy.

The ladybug is an effective predator of aphids on pecans, pine trees, ornamental shrubs, roses, and other plants. In many areas pecan growers no longer need to spray their trees for pecan aphid because this lady beetle has done such a good job of biological control. Beetle populations tend to explode when there is an abundance of aphids, often eliminating the local aphid population.

You can transfer these insects from place to place in order to control aphids on your plants. This has been observed to work better than a pesticide.

Even though this lady beetle is an important biological control agent, they can gather in your house.  Simply sweep them up with a broom and dustpan and deposit them outside on a plant that you want to protect. (They like to play dead, but will either stay on the plant or fly away later.)

Warning: killing them with insecticides, squashing them, or handling them may result in orange stains on walls and fabric. When stressed they secrete a harmless, but staining, orange substance.

Contributors: Susan Mahr, University of Wisconsin - Madison: Virginia Giglio, Kingfisher, Oklahoma
 

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