Art,

Here in Maine the standard lady beetle used to be your basic red with one
spot on each half of the carapace (sp?). Now that organic gardening has
become more popular  people are sending away for lady beetle larvae to
devour aphids, mites  etc that devastate the flowers and vegetables.  I have
heard that the species you get when you mail order lady beetles is one from
England that tends to gather in hordes in the fall and enter houses in an
effort to find safe winter digs.  Certainly these fall ladybug infestations
are a recent occurence, within the last 10-15 years. The most effective
defense I have found so far are tight windows and a dust buster vacuum to
collect the ones that still find their way inside.

Beth DeHaas
Whitefield, ME
----- Original Message -----
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Sent: Sunday, November 02, 2003 10:50 AM
Subject: [CONCH-L] Q-Man on bugs


> Is there an entymologist in the house? We are honored each year at this
time by thousands of Ladybug Beetles. --in the house, south side.
>   The Q is: they come in many shades. They are red or orange. They have
few, many, or no black spots at all. Does such coloring indicate speciation?
I doubt it, but I thought I'd leave it to you experts.
>    Q-Man
>
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