Ladybug and aphid: type of relationship and example, as well as who eats whom of these insects and what do the larvae eat?

Garden and garden pests are a real misfortune for the owners of personal plots. Currently, a whole "army" of pests resistant to various poisons has been bred. Insects evolve, they develop stable immunity and adapt to the human-modified environment.

To win the fight against pests, the enemy must be known in person. We consider aphids in more detail.

Pests

Aphids (Latin Aphidoidea) - a small, inactive insect, exceeding a length of not more than 8 mm.

The only food for them is plant juice, which aphids produce by piercing a leaf or stem with their sharp proboscis and sucking it. Many of them excrete sweet excrement or pad when eating, because cannot digest sugar, which is why ants are attracted.

Among aphids, there are many species of insects that are carriers of the most dangerous viruses and bacteria.

Mostly they live in dense, huge colonies, which are most often found in countries with a tropical and mild climate. Aphids learned to winter, laying their eggs in cracks in the bark, near the kidneys and other secluded places. In each colony there are winged and wingless individuals, each of them fulfill their role.

In spring, wingless females emerge from the eggs, which are able to breed without fertilization. These females give birth to live larvae immediately. And only by the middle of summer do winged females appear. The life span of one generation is usually 10 days. Aphids all their life can sit on one plant and eat it because of their inactivity, until it finally dies. The enemies for them are ladybugs.

Helper insects

Ladybug (lat.Coccinellidae) - an arthropod insect belonging to the beetle family, a class of insects, a brutal order.

Its size is on average from 4mm to 10mm. Bugs live mainly one by one. On the ground, the wings of a bug perform a protective function. The insect makes about 85 strokes per second, which is why many birds and vertebrates do not even dare to hunt for it, also lizards and tarantulas are afraid of it. To protect themselves from enemies, bugs secrete a poisonous, yellow liquid that smells bad.

Basically, a ladybug can be found in such places:

in forests, steppes;
on the cannons of the forest;
in the gardens.

Ladybugs usually fly very high above the ground. The breeding season is mid-spring. The female emits a specific smell at this time, thanks to which the male can find her. They lay eggs under the leaves of plants and immediately after the mating season they die. Insects winter in large flocks at the edge of the forest, under a thick layer of leaves and the bark of old stumps. They usually live about 1 year, in some cases, the life cycle can reach two years.

Stages of development of ladybugs:

egg;
larva;
pupa;
imago;
pre-pup.

Ladybug larvae in the early days are similar to simple pest beetles.

But, if you look closely at them, you can see red spots on the sides, thanks to which it is clear that this is the larva of the "cow."

Ladybugs spruce shrubs, crops and grass meadows. The ladybug is a predator, so she loves to eat aphids.

Not finding aphids and its larvae, a ladybug can eat:

small caterpillars;
spider mite;
whitefly;
scabbard;
the worm.

It can be called an industrial apparatus for the destruction of pests in the garden and the garden.

Relationship type of these creatures

The relationship between the ladybug and the aphids is a predator and prey. Their relationship begins at the stage of the larvae of ladybugs. When it is finally formed, it eats up to two hundred small aphid insects per day from spring to autumn.

After the bugs are saturated with pollen and aphids, eggs are laid not far from an insect colony. Hatching larvae of the "cow", not finding aphids nearby, can safely eat neighboring eggs in order to accumulate nutrients. But their favorite delicacy still remains aphids, for the development of one larva about 1000 such insects are needed.

Larval relationship example

The larva of the ladybug and the aphid are irreconcilable enemies. Her larvae eat aphids for 3-4 weeks. Then, the larvae emerging from the eggs actively feed on it. Over a lifetime, a ladybug eats about 8 thousand aphids.

Attracting useful bugs

Ladybugs in addition to insects eat pollen. In order to attract helpers to your garden, you need to know which pollen is preferable for them.

Let's consider some of them:

Marigold (calendula). This perennial herb comes from the sunflower family and is a medicinal plant. Lures ladybugs.
Cornflowers. It can reach a height of 100 cm. Flowering occurs in spring or autumn.
Dill. Effective and unpretentious green plant.
Dandelion. The most common plant in Europe. It grows best in a sunny place.
Mint. Besides the fact that it attracts “cows”, mint is also good for health. Usually does not require care, but should grow separately from others.
Coriander. It is used mainly in the form of spices. It blooms from June to July and needs constant watering. Beckons bugs in the period of growth and flowering.
Cosmea. It blooms from June to September, feels good in a sunny place. It is a wonderful decoration of the garden, but for wintering it needs a warm place.
Ammy An annual herbaceous plant, has a height of 30 to 100cm.

If you want to attract more beneficial insects, then:

Do not use toxic chemicals.
You can transfer bugs to the desired area.

In order to get rid of aphids, it is not necessary to resort to insecticides, because nature itself has come up with a mechanism that can ensure the maintenance of a population of the desired plants. Easier to attract ladybugs and enjoy healthy plants.