As I write this post, I’m sitting next to a big window we installed in a blank wall some years ago so we could see the back yard and National Forest beyond. I think this is the most gorgeous fall we’ve ever had, though I recall saying that pretty much every year…
Also outside the window right next to me there are thousands of swarming ladybugs. I got alarmed when I first saw them, thought they were yellow jackets we’d have to immediately eradicate. Why do I forget that the ladybugs do this every year?
They’re taking advantage of the unseasonably warm daytime temperatures to find a place to spend the winter. Because they’re so valuable, thousands of them will end up spending the winter in my house attic, barn loft and shed.
They’ll cover the beams and boards until they make their way into crevices and knotholes to the space beyond. Then they’ll crawl back out come spring to find their way back to my garden to do their ever-so useful job of pest control. Of course, I like to make friends with my garden allies – lady bugs, praying mantises, black snakes and racers…
Rural dwellers – farmers and gardeners – around here are encouraged by the extension service to go ahead and allow the ladybugs to overwinter in porch walls or sheds because they are so useful. Millions of Asian lady beetles have been introduced on purpose in our region expressly because they’re so useful. Being friendly to friendlies can’t hurt…
Links: