There was a ladybug named Lizzy, she found herself in a tizzy, on her back she saw spots that grew there like dots and the whole matter made her quite dizzy. – SB

I wish I were a teeny bug, a sitting on a tiny rug, I’d do nothing all the day, dreaming all my days away, Hearing, thinking, seeing a lot, from my teeny, tiny, rug bug spot. – SB

There are myths about ladybugs, counting the number of dots and you will soon receive dollars of the same amount. 

Tis the season for ladybugs swarming about by the thousands. They crawl inside the upstairs room where the sun heats the little critter, allowing them to warm up as the morning turned cold. They can be found on the porches, outdoor walls, the garage, the boat shed and sometimes on your shoulder or your sleeve. They are pretty little creatures. I have a bug box that’s pulled out each year when our ladybugs arrive. Inside the bug box are a few blueberries and grapes that have been sliced so as to allow them to enjoy the juice. A water bottle sits nearby for misting. A few stems of greenery from the yard provides a place to crawl or hide. As the bug box gets full, they are taken out to the greenhouse and released. Ladybugs will take care of your plants should you find insects like aphids, mealybugs, scale insects, mites, and other soft-bodied pests. A good treat for ladybugs includes raisins, bananas, and berries. Should you choose to use these fruits for the ladybugs, be sure to cut or squeeze the fruit to access the juice.    

Ladybugs do have predators, from birds to tree frogs; they also have protection. Nature has warning systems. Red is danger, something to be avoided. Green is tasty. The colors red, yellow, orange and black warn of poison, bad tasting, or strong defense. Ladybugs can “play dead” by pulling their legs in like a turtle; they also excrete a small amount of blood that has a bad smell. 

If you don’t care for ladybugs in your home or other areas and you don’t desire to catch them and keep them in a bug box there are other possibilities. Without some humidity they will die. If you prefer to eliminate the ladybugs try using a vacuum cleaner or a shop vac and empty the beetles, ladybugs are actually beetles, outdoors. 

Now for the fun part. If you have little ones who would like an easy pet, ladybugs might be just the gift. Purchase a bug box or use a terrarium, add foliage, a damp paper towel and the fruits listed above. If you want to watch the whole life cycle from egg, larva, pupa, and adult, there are kits that can be found on the internet. The kit would be a unique Christmas gift for a child and a gift for your garden in the spring; a gift that keeps on giving.

Shannon Bardwell is a writer living quietly in the Prairie. Email reaches her at [email protected].