Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Predators to our rescue


Terry Altenhof took an amazing photo of the eggs of two predators in his rose garden. Both types of predators are seen here on a single leaf. These are the all important egg stage photos of the lady beetle and the lacewing. 

Why are they so important you might ask? They are important because people do not recognize the eggs of ladybugs and lacewings. Because they don't recognize them they might squish them at this fragile egg stage.  What a boon to the garden the larvae (ie. young hatchlings) and fully grown adults (ie ladybugs and lacewings)  are with their voracious appetites for aphids. Lacewings -see white eggs suspended on small stems-  and ladybeetles - see the yellow eggs - both eat aphids at both the larval and adult stage. Does anyone have a shortage of aphids this year? No - I didn't think so. We are already well into our second generation in Calgary. Maybe the ladybugs and lacewings will catch up to the aphids by fall. Cross your fingers and look for eggs and the young black larvae of lady bugs ... I wonder what a lacewing larva looks like?

2 comments:

Tina said...

Hi Donna. Totally hailed out in Cheadle, but earlier this month we were admiring the dozens of ladybug pupae we have on some sage near the driveway. Didn't know what they were at first, looked a bit like potato bug larvae. Also found some leaf-cutter bee egg cases (?) or something made out of rolled up alfalfa leaves with a four-layer, perfectly cut and fitted cap...

Donna Balzer said...

Yes- the leaf cutters - very interesting- and when they cut the perfectly round holes in alfalfa leaves? How do they do that?