Why Are Ladybugs Important For The World?

Ladybugs are important for the world because they help control pests that eat plants, especially in farmer’s crops. Adult ladybugs as well as ladybug larvae eat tons of insects, which is very helpful. In their lifespan, they eat around 5,000 Aphids, and they only live 2 to 3 years!

They eat aphids, asparagus beetle larvae, spider mites, and other insect larvae, which sometimes get out of control and hurt crops or gardens. That is why farmers love them, and they even purchase them so that they can help them naturally control pests. We could say that in agriculture they have a super beneficial role!

However, there are some varieties that look similar to “regular” ladybugs, such as the Mexican bean beetle and the squash beetle, which are actually considered pests because they eat plants.

Anyways, I would rather have a good ladybug eating pests than farmers constantly spraying stuff in plants that we are going to eat, don’t you agree?

You should know that there are around 500 species of ladybugs in North America, and there are around 5,000 species all around the world!

In addition, they also help with pollination (though they are not considered as great of pollinators as bees) thanks to the pollen that gets stuck on the bodies. As they move around, they pollinate the flowers and the world!

In addition, they are important because they are a food source for other animals. Birds are their main predator, but other animals like frogs, dragonflies, and spiders also eat them.

Interestingly, their color and spots are warnings to predators. It means that they should stay away because ladybugs are trying to say “I taste and smell horrible.” When ladybugs get nervous, they play dead and usually expel (from their leg joints) a secretion that makes them taste horrible.

And finally, let’s admit that their prettiness, interesting wing system, and cuteness bring a little admiration and joy to our eyes and souls.

Why ladybugs are important for the world a blog post by Nadin Novoa — A few reasons why Ladybugs are important for the world and a silver ladybug pendant from The Secret Garden Collection by Nadin Novoa

Interesting Facts

They are called ladybugs because when European farmers were having bad pests, they used to pray to Virgin Mary, and after the magical beetle got rid of the pests, they started calling them “Beetle of Our Lady,” which in time got shortened to “Ladybug”
From egg to adult, it can take as short as 4 to 7 weeks
They are found in orange, red, blue, striped, dotted, and even more colors and patterns. But let’s just say there are tons of patterns and designs, amazing!

Check out this video that National Geographic made in regards to the ladybug’s wings:

Ladybug Wings from National Geographic

What to do if you find a few ladybugs inside your house during winter and you want to help them survive

Some may survive and find a way out of your house when they stop hibernating, but most likely they will die due to the dryness of your house. They may also already look like they are dead, but sometimes they are not.

What you can do is to put them in a transparent container (preferably not glass or keep the glass away from windows because it will get extremely hot inside) with a lid that has holes so that they can breathe. You can make a temporary house until the temperature outside is decent for them to survive. Inside this container, you put stones, paper towels, a humid sponge soaked in water (so they can get water and the container doesn’t get too dry), twigs, leaves, and flowers if you want. You can temporarily feed them honey, wet dehydrated grapes, or fruit that is not acidic like apples.

Then release them as soon as you know there is nice weather and place them underneath stones, or in a mini “cave” of stones and twigs outside in your garden. This will allow the ladybugs to have shelter until they find one of their own. Sometimes, the weather gets cold again, so having this shelter, and the fact that you gave the honey, will help them survive.