Happenings in the insect world
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Published on: April 29, 2020
Lady beetles, aka ladybugs, are not the only insects that feed on aphids.
So do the soldier beetles, family Cantharidae. They are sometimes known as leatherwings.
Got roses?
Got aphids?
You may also have a good friend, the soldier beetle.
Wikipedia tells us that their color pattern is reminiscent of the red coats of early British soldiers.
True.
A soldier beetle on a yellow rose. (Cell phone photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Comments:
by Rachael Long
on April 30, 2020 at 6:10 AM
Thanks for the reminder that soldier beetle are good, too! For years I wondered where soldier beetles went during the wintertime. Then one day late last winter on a warm day, I turned over a board on the edge of a pond and about a hundred soldier beetle adults scampered down holes in the ground! I bet they also estivate as adults in the ground during hot summer days, too.
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