Welcome, lady! Not only are ladybugs pretty to look at, they are quite the helper in the garden. Ladybug larva can eat about 25 aphids a day and adults can eat over 50, so when you spot one in your garden, throw out the welcome mat and allow your lady to lay.

Lady free? Before you run out to purchase ladybugs at garden centers, consider these fairly unknown facts. Most ladybugs are harvested from their aggregation spot where they hibernate, not bred somewhere. If you purchase lady beetles, they do have a high chance of flying off before the get settled in the garden. If ladybugs are harvested before their hibernation was complete, they will not lay eggs when they are released. You also run the risk of introducing a non-native species into your local ecosystem: a small parasitic wasp called Perilitus coccinellae can lay it’s eggs in the larva, pupa or adult ladybug when at the ladybug aggregation sites.

There are other beneficial insects, “green lacewings” and “aphid lions” for example, that are easier to release and can be a powerful alternative to keeping aphids out of the garden without using pesticides.