It’s 2022 and aren’t we glad to have the last couple of years behind us? New problems are brewing, and with ridiculously high gas prices, it’s best to just stay home and garden! ….. Right?
The ladybugs are already beginning to arrive for the new garden season. I saw one crawling on my eggplant and sure enough, I later found yellow eggs planted beneath a leaf!
Her eggs are tiny and yellow and they will be left under leaves. If they survive, they will all become ladybugs eventually.
The next day, I saw that the eggs had hatched into black critters that were crawling a bit. They look like tiny, black spiders. They will soon turn into long black bugs with red markings. I wrote a page with photos about the life stages of ladybugs here.
As a gardener, I want to be aware of which bugs are good, or beneficial, and the ladybugs – in all stages – are good! But we must know how they look before they become ladybugs in order for them to survive.
My Fear: Do Anole’s Eat Ladybugs?
I’ve searched for an answer and have not found one that is exact, but I am hoping that brown (and green) anole lizards do not eat ladybugs. Here in Florida we have both types of lizard.
There is a very large brown lizard that loves to hang out on the eggplant plant (see him below). I have seen some green aphids, and maybe he is eating those. But aphids are also ladybug food. The lizard could be eating ants, or something else. I’m wondering if he will gobble up the baby ladybugs too.
Ladybugs Do Not Taste Good
I can attest to the fact that ladybugs do not taste good. Accidentally, I had a ladybug in my mouth – it was in the water I drank – and it left a horrible taste. I hope that our lizards think so too and will let the larvae live.
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Hydrangeas Blue 