- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Call them ladybugs, call them ladybirds, call them lady beetles, call them Coccinellidae, or just call them aphid eaters or deluxe aphid eaters.
And while you're at Briggs Hall, check out the insect-related displays and activities planned and coordinated by entomology doctoral candidate Danielle Rutkowski of the UC Davis Graduate Student Association. The events range from Roach Races (cheer on your favorite roach) to Maggot Art (dip a maggot in non-toxic, water-based paint and create a masterpiece worthy of framing--or at least, it can join your refrigerator art).
Bugs rule.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
They're curious little critters.
When solider beetles (family Cantharidae) go on patrol in your garden, don't kill them. They're not being deployed to harm you.
They're the good guys. They eat aphids and other soft-bodied insects.
Sometimes called "leatherwings"--they look like the insect equivalent to the British soldiers in the American Revolution soldiers--soldier beetles compete with lady beetles (aka ladybugs), lacewings, damsel bugs, long-legged flies and other insects for aphids. Larvae of lady beetles and syrphid flies (aka flower flies and hover flies) also feast on aphids.
The UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program (UC IPM) provides a good description of the soldier beetle:
"Adult soldier beetles are elongate and usually dark brown to black with orange, red, or yellow. The head is commonly bent downward. The antennae are 11-segmented, threadlike, and commonly held forward of the body. The pronotum is usually wider than the head and wider than long. The wing covers are smooth to velvety appearing and soft and flexible, giving rise to the common name leatherwings. Adults range from 1/16 to 1-1/8 inches (1.5 to 28 mm) long, varying by species....About 160 species of soldier beetles in 11 genera occur in California. Common genera include Cantharis, Chauliognathus, and Podabrus."
Adults are active during the day and usually observed on flowers or leaves infested with aphids or other honeydew-excreting insects," UC IPM says. "When disturbed, adults may withdraw their legs and drop to the ground as if dead. Adults' blackish and red coloration alerts vertebrate predators that cantharid beetles are distasteful; adults, larvae, and pupae can excrete noxious, defensive chemicals from specialized abdominal glands."
None that visited our garden last weekend dropped to the ground. We didn't disturb them, either (we were using a 200mm macro lens).
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
You know those dratted aphids, those little pests that suck the very lifeblood out of your prized plants?
Well, have you ever watched them give birth?
They do, you know. Live births.
The UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program says that "Aphids have many generations a year. Most aphids in California's mild climate reproduce asexually throughout most or all of the year with adult females giving birth to live offspring—often as many as 12 per day—without mating."
"Because each adult aphid can produce up to 80 offspring in a matter of a week, aphid populations can increase with great speed."
We've captured a few images of aphids giving birth in our Vacaville pollination garden...but only with the microscopic-like Canon MPE-65mm lens (mounted on an EOS 7D). If you think aphids are tiny, their babies are super tiny.
Videos, however, tell the story better. Check out the KQED Deep Look video Born Pregnant: Aphids Invade with an Onslaught of Clones.
As we mentioned in a previous Bug Squad blog, UC Cooperative Extension specialist and agricultural entomologist Ian Grettenberger of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology faculty, assisted with the KQED Deep Look video, which won a nature award equivalent to an Oscar.
Grettenberger provided his expertise--and some aphids--working with digital video producer Josh Cassidy, senior video producer for KQED Science and the lead producer and cinematographer for Deep Look, a short-form nature series that illuminates fascinating stories in the natural world. The video scored an international Jackson Wild Media Award, winning first place in the category, "Animal Behavior, Short Form video (17 minutes or less)."
The Deep Video points out that the aphids are highly skilled at "making babies."
Yes, they are.
Fortunately, we have lady beetles (aka ladybugs) and soldier beetles that are highly skilled at eating them!
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
UC Cooperative Extension specialist and agricultural entomologist Ian Grettenberger of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology faculty, assisted with the KQED Deep Look video, "Born Pregnant: Aphids Invade with an Onslaught of Clones," that won a nature award equivalent to an Oscar.
Grettenberger provided his expertise--and some aphids--working with digital video producer Josh Cassidy, senior video producer for KQED Science and the lead producer and cinematographer for Deep Look, a short-form nature series that illuminates fascinating stories in the natural world.
Cassidy's aphid video scored an international Jackson Wild Media Award, winning first place in the category, "Animal Behavior, Short Form video (17 minutes or less)."
In selecting it as the best film in its category, the judges related that it "most effectively explores animal behavior in an innovative and illuminating way."
The aphid video came about when Cassidy approached Grettenberger looking for researchers working on aphids. "I told him I wasn't working in the lab with aphids, but he could come check out my garden, which happened to be chock full of them," Grettenberger related.
"It was almost all shot at my house/garden," Grettenberger said. "With COVID being a thing, Josh got to sit in my garage and shoot aphid videos. I helped some to form the story, and the final shots of the developing larvae/parasitoid were some I took since Josh couldn't sit around waiting for the parasitoid larvae to develop." Grettenberger is pictured in one of the frames.
The video reveals that "female aphids are the matriarchs of a successful family operation--taking over your garden. But don't lose hope; these pests have some serious predators and creepy parasites looking to take them down."
Comments posted on YouTube include:
- "You guys are just nailing it with this production and sound effects. Amazing!!"
- "BRILLIANTLY DONE!! Makes you want to "love" aphids !!!"
- "One more amazing video from this amazing channel! You guys rock!"
- "Deep Look is a phenomenal YouTube channel. The videos are so beautiful. I can't believe how their team keeps making epic after epic biologically significant videos."
Cassidy, who holds a bachelor's degree in wildlife biology from Ohio University and pursued research on marine mammals, studied science and natural history filmmaking at San Francisco State University and Montana State University. A long-time member of the Deep Look team, he is known for his excellent work in creating innovative and fascinating videos. See some of his science videos here.
Grettenberger, who joined the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology faculty in January, 2019, focuses his research on field and vegetable crops; integrated pest management; applied insect ecology, and biological control of pests. He holds a bachelor's degree in biology from Western Washington University and a doctorate in entomology from Pennsylvania State University.
Grettenberger administers a YouTube channel on Pests and Natural Enemies. One of his most popular videos is his post on Lady Beetle Larvae and a Baby Aphid--Scoop, Scoop, Chomp Chomp: "A lady beetle larvae (Coccinella septempunctata--seven-spotted lady beetle) making short work of this baby aphid. You can see how they can eat *many* per day and help regulate aphid populations. (Predation part slowed down to 50%. They chow down more quickly). This is pea aphid, which can be a pest of alfalfa and other legume crops."
From KQED website: "KQED, a National Public Radio (NPR) and Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) affiliate in San Francisco, serves Northern California and beyond with a public-supported alternative to commercial TV, radio and web media. Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, the largest science and environment reporting unit in California. KQED Science is supported by The National Science Foundation, the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Vadasz Family Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Campaign 21 and the members of KQED."
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Step right up, folks!
I'm a lady beetle, aka ladybug, and it's lunch time.
Or maybe it's snack time, I don't know. I don't talk when my mouth is full.
What I do know is this: aphids are tasty and they line up to be eaten. Or sometimes it appears that way!
Lady beetles, the good guys and gals in the garden, are natural enemies of aphids and other soft-bodied insects. Scientists say a lady beetle may eat as many as 5000 aphids in its lifetime.
The red coloration serves as a warning that “I don't taste good.” When attacked, they ooze a substance that further emphasizes that.
Even the larvae of these beetles eat aphids. Unfortunately, the alligator-like larvae are mistaken for pests and many an novice gardener has killed them.
"They are ferocious predators of small insects," says Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology and a UC Davis distinguished professor of entomology. In her information sheet on lady beetles, she mentions that "adults will also feed on pollen and nectar when their prey is scarce."
Factoid: "Lady beetles will occasionally bite humans. However, they apparently bite to collect salt rather than to defend themselves or to behave aggressively."
Kimsey includes five species of lady beetles, with photos, on her information sheet:
- Spotless lady beetle, Cycloneda sanguinea
- Asian lady beetle, Harmonia axyridis
- Seven-spot lady beetle, Coccinella septempunctata
- Two-spot lady beetle, Adalia bipunctata
- Convergent lady beetle, Hippodamia convergens
The five are "mostly distinguished by the extent of white markings on the prothorax and the number of black
spots on the wing covers (elytra)," Kimsey says.
All hail the lady beetles!
/span>/span>