Ladybird Love

Monday, 03 March 2014

People often say dogs are man’s best friend but not if he is a gardener. I reckon a gardener’s best friend has got to be the ladybird. I love them ‘cos:

a. They are pretty
b. They are fun to draw
c. They eat lots of bad bugs in the garden

In my latest blog I will regale you with lots of interesting facts on ladybirds, tips on how to encourage them into your garden as well as a cool craft project featuring our spotty friends. And I will even tell you about some funky ladybird flowers to grow…

Ladybug

Did you know:

There are over 5000 species of ladybirds worldwide.
Most ladybirds feed exclusively on aphids (greenfly, blackfly etc.) which is why we gardeners love them so much. They can eat up to 5000 in a life-time! That’s a bug banquet!
Ladybirds are more effective than poisonous chemicals.
Their vibrant colours not only make them pretty to us but also acts as warning to predators.
Not all ladybirds have spots – some have stripes!
A common myth is that the number of spots on a ladybird’s back indicates its age. The most common ladybird in the UK has seven spots.

How to encourage ladybirds into your garden:

So, we can see why we would want to have our little spotty friends in the garden, but how do we get them here?

Incorporate plants that ladybirds love into your garden. Plants such as tulips, lillies, fennel, dill, geraniums, angelica and cosmos are favourites.
Make a ladybird house and a ladybird feeder. We will blog about how to do this soon.
You can buy them online! Whatever next?! Wonder if you can add them to your grocery list?

You can also go one step further and have your very own ladybird inside the house. Here’s how…

Make Your Own Ladybird

You will need:

Paper plate
Card
Pipe cleaners
Googly eyes
Scissors
Glue
Red and black paint

To make:

1. Turn your paper plate upside down and paint it red and leave it to dry. Then paint a black line down the middle of the ladybird’s back.

Yay, painting is almost as much fun as gardening

2. Cut out some spots and a ladybird’s head from the card and paint them black and leave to dry. Glue on the ladybird’s head and spots.

I added seven spots to my ladybird, the
most commonly found type in the UK

3. Cut the pipe cleaners into six equal sizes and attach them onto the underside so three pop out on either side to make legs.

Add pipe cleaners to make the legs.

4. Glue on the googly eyes.

I do love a googly eye!

There you have it, your very own ladybird to enjoy whenever you want.

Hello little ladybug!

And if you want to add a splash of red with black spots to your garden, even when our friendly bugs are not around, sow some of these funky ladybird seeds in the garden. I will share images of what I have done with mine in weeks to come. It’s gonna involve some more funky upcycling!