LADY BUG MIGRATION MAKES HEADLINES

Hitting the news just yesterday (in a story by Alex Johnson of NBC News) a massive 80 mile-wide swath of lady bugs (hippodamia convergens) made headlines!

Did you know that lady bugs migrate? They sure do! In fact, this swarm of lady bugs leaving the southern warm area of San Diego County is not that unusual, though the fact that the swarm was detected by radar and reported on the weather news is pretty amazing and kinda fun!

Organic Control has been helping these beautiful creatures find their primary food source (aphids) for over 40 years, so we know a thing or two about these migrations. Though not well understood, and a tremendous miracle of nature, these swarms happen twice per year. Lady bugs fly upward from the “lowlands” to catch the airstream that brings them home to breed and to nest. Every season the miracle repeats, bugs find the breeding grounds of their parents by hook or by crook and settle into the highlands for this miraculous “family reunion.”

As we mentioned earlier, the primary food of lady bugs is aphids. If you have an aphid infestation in your garden, you can employ these little guardians of the garden to clear your plants of these chewing, sucking insects. Ask for them at your local garden center.

Another wonderful benefit of deploying lady bugs into your garden is that you are stepping into a new world of pest control WITHOUT chemicals. Too many decades have seen the dominance of pesticides and harsh treatment of bugs in our backyards. The appearance of lady bugs reminds us all that nature has a balance. When humans respect the natural balance of predators vs. enemies…WE ALL WIN! Your flowers, fruits and vegetables can be grown without chemicals and pesticides.

So fly lady bugs FLY!

Read the full story on NBC News at: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/ladybug-swarm-detected-weather-radar-over-southern-california-n1014341