26 October 2023
Pittsburgh’s noticed lanternfly plague (Lycorma delicatula) is usually over after current chilly climate knocked out plenty of adults. It’s not a foul 12 months for brown marmorated stink bugs, so are the insect plagues over? Not fairly. Yesterday I occurred right into a swarm of Asian ladybeetles.
Asian ladybeetles (Harmonia axyridis) had been imported to the U.S. 35 years in the past as predators for aphids, adelgids, psyllids and scales. They do a great job they usually induced no hassle till they had been in a position to overwinter beginning in 1993.
Ladybeetles overwinter as adults that collect within the fall with the purpose of “The Extra The Merrier.” Drawn to daylight and heat reflecting off south or southwest-facing light-colored buildings, just a few accumulate and appeal to others by sight an odor. Fairly quickly the realm is crazy-busy with ladybeetles as within the picture above.
The bugs are searching for cracks during which to spend the winter. If a crack results in a heat place indoors, that’s even higher.
As soon as inside the heat can hold them lively.
It isn’t unusual for tens of hundreds of beetles to congregate in attics, ceilings and wall voids, and as a result of heat of the partitions, will transfer round inside these voids and exit into the residing areas of the house.
Along with beetles biting (which they do), they exude a foul-smelling, yellow defensive chemical which can generally trigger recognizing on partitions and different surfaces. Most individuals are solely irritated by the odor of those chemical substances. Nevertheless, some people have reported experiencing an allergic response to the defensive excretions.
— Penn State Extension: Multicolored Asian Woman Beetle (Ladybug)
Penn State Extension has useful recommendation on methods to vacuum them (keep away from getting them up into the machine!) at Multicolored Asian Woman Beetle (Ladybug).
The excellent news is: Have you ever seen a noticed lanternfly these days? Most likely not! Winter is a superb pest management system.
(photographs from Wikimedia Commons; click on on the captions to see the originals)
