Has anybody seen ladybugs this year?

[dconklin]

We used to see a lot of ladybugs here. I mean a lot, some days you would go outside and a few would land on you. This year I have not seen 1 ladybug around here and I don't know what happened to them. There are many other new bugs around, but I miss having the ladybugs here!

Has anybody seen ladybugs where you live yet this year?

 

[claudine]

Fortunately, there are lots and lots of ladybugs here. I saw one today, it visited my home and I had to help it find the way back to the garden.
I wonder why did they disappear from your area...I hope that they'll come back soon.

 

[dconklin]

I have no idea what happened to them all of a sudden. Last year I remember seeing the larvae all over (didn't realize it was ladybugs until I looked it up.) The year before there were days we would walk outside and be covered in them which was really cool. Now this year I haven't seen any in town.

Do they have any predators that may be getting them or scaring them off?

 

[Soliloquy]

I saw several ladybugs earlier this year, but not recently. (New York area.)

 

[happyflowerlady]

I have seen some outside this spring, but not a lot of them. Maybe because of the really wet, rainy spring and summer we have had out here.
I think that fall is when they mate, and you usually have the ladybugs all over when they are mating.

 

[Pat]

I have seen the yellow lady bugs around this year. Not very many red ladybugs. Maybe it is the wet summer we are having this year.

 

[claudine]

Dconklin, as far as I know, birds are the main enemies of ladybugs. But spiders and dragonflies eat them too.
Pat - I'm pretty sure that I've never seen a yellow ladybug. Here, where I live, red ones are much more common.

 

[Gardener]

I have not even seen a single lady bug. It's weird because you would expect to see a couple as they are always popular in my area. I reside in a rural area in Manitoba, but usually you'd see a bunch of them. Not sure if global warming has anything to do with it

 

[ACSAPA]

We usually have a few ladybugs in Florida too and I haven't seen any since last fall. We've been having a lot of thunderstorms, so gnats are plentiful right now but not ladybugs.

 

[limcid]

I hadn't thought about it before, but now that you mention it I haven't seen any, either. I'm in Virginia.

 

[blueeyes]

I have seen a few but its a far cry from two years ago. I think a couple of years ago there was an infestation of them and they were everywhere. I do like ladybugs but not that many. I live in Ontario Canada and the few I have seen have been red.

 

[ChanellG]

I have only seen one or two here and there. If there's not enough food they don't tend to hang around. That is why some gardeners recommend against purchasing them as pest control for your yard. It would be nice to be able to raise them, but for now I have my hands full with monarch caterpillars/butterflies.

 

[dconklin]

Dconklin, as far as I know, birds are the main enemies of ladybugs. But spiders and dragonflies eat them too.
Pat - I'm pretty sure that I've never seen a yellow ladybug. Here, where I live, red ones are much more common.

We do have more birds this year, at least it seems that way anyway. I have even had a problem with birds taking the branches off of my tomato plants when they were smaller I had a heck of a time keeping them away. Usually the birds are the right balance here and usually they just come in the yard quick and then leave. This year they are here everyday.

We have also had a lot of rain last month and some in May too so I wonder if that is it too. Everything is out of normal this year.

 

[dconklin]

I have seen the yellow lady bugs around this year. Not very many red ladybugs. Maybe it is the wet summer we are having this year.

Yellow must be really cool! I have only seen the red ones before. We get weird looking beetles over the last couple years, but for ladybugs we have only ever had the red. I would love to see a yellow one tho!

 

[claudine]

Dconklin, in my area everything is out of normal too. Spring came unusually late and the summer is pretty cold.
Here is a picture of a cute, yellow ladybug :