Friend or Foe?

Friend of Foe?
Ladybug
Hello ladies and gentlemen to a new series of blog posts where I dissect whether a specific insect is a
friend of us or a foe. We’ll be sharing some cool resources and links too!!
In this post we will be discussing the ladybug, quite famous for its bright red shell with black spots. And
commonly seen around North America. Lots of people get excited about bugs (which doesn’t mean all
small legged critters are actually bugs! Some are from different families but we tend to call them all
bugs. Which, if I was a spider, would bug me. See what I did there? ha ha)
The ladybug is a beetle that is a friend to farmers and gardeners. Seemingly small and delicate, this
brightly colored predator has a reputation for being voracious and tough.
The ladybug specifically is a very important insect for plants and farms in general, as they are hunters
who eat and keep aphid, mite, thrip and other small insect populations on the menu. In the next post we
will discuss aphids in more detail, but know that they are little crop vampires and with their
reproduction rate they can destroy acres of crops in a few days.
According to the Candadian Wildlife Federation a single lady bug can eat 500 aphids a day – that’s a lot!!
Learn more about them here: https://cwf-fcf.org/en/resources/encyclopedias/fauna/insects/ladybug-
101.html
They ladybug we see in North America, is helpful in being a natural predator and by supporting the
beneficial insects in our fields and yards, like ladybugs, we can reduce the spraying we do on our fields.
When a farmer sprays a pesticide it is after careful consideration, scouting and sweeping in the field.
Farmers know that spraying hits all insects in the field – friend and foe. The timing of spraying and
making sure that you need to spray are important economic and environmental considerations for
farmers.
Want to learn some more about our ladybug friends? Check out these links.
https://fieldheroes.ca/resources/
So in conclusion, ladybugs are very important for farmers, gardeners and plants in general and are very
definitely a friend!!
Bonus activity! Make a Ladybug! Use craft supplies or Lego and share your creations with us on social!
We’d love to see them. Use the hashtags #agtechsteam #ruralkidscan #ruralkidscode