I REMEMBER WHEN I could always find a Ladybird in the garden

I miss seeing Ladybirds in the garden.  I remember as a child I could wander outside to the garden and always find myself a beautiful Ladybird.  Nowadays, I go outside to the garden and sadly, to find one is very, very rare. 

I must say I stumbled a bit on whether to refer to them as Ladybirds, Ladybugs, or Ladybeetles.  I think I have called them all three names at different times (probably mostly Lady Beetle actually) but I settled on Ladybird because my research showed me that was the preferred name here in Australia.

Did you know that Australia apparently hosts more than 500 ladybird species, most of which are predators of aphids and scales — insect pests that feed on plant sap and cause serious damage to gardens and crops when they occur in large numbers.  The mealy bug ladybird is one of the most celebrated examples of biological control. In 1891 these ladybirds were exported to the United States, where they saved the Californian citrus industry from the mealy bug plague. 

So where have the Ladybirds gone?  I consulted Mr Google but there really wasn’t much information to find that was Australia based.  I did find these articles here and here that suggest the problem may be associated with the use of pesticides. 

I thought perhaps it might also depend on what is in your garden so I’ve looked for what plants might attract Ladybirds to your garden and what Ladybirds like and don’t like. 

Ladybirds LOVE: 

• Garden herbs like Coriander/Cilantro, Fennel and Dill.
• Also Angelica, Calendula, Caraway, Chives, Cosmos, Feverfew, Marigold, Statice, Sweet Alyssum, and Yarrow.
• Living in well-watered gardens because they need to drink frequently.  Also putting out shallow plates of water for the Ladybirds to drink from will apparently attract them (need to watch out for mosquito’s though!).
• Aphids, scale insects or mites.  Ladybirds need to have enough bugs to eat.  You could plant some decoy plants that will attract and provide aphids while you keep your desired plants bug free until the ladybugs come to do it for you.  Plants that can be used as aphid-attracting decoy plants include: Early cabbage; Marigold; Nasturtium (These are aphids’ favorite); and Radish.
• A warm place to shelter.  I saw many suggestions to build ladybug houses to provide shelter for your ladybugs. Here’s an example!

Ladybirds DON’T LIKE: 

• Insecticides. Any insecticides, even low toxic or environmentally friendly ones, are harmful to ladybirds and they destroy the ladybirds’ food sources. That means new ladybirds won’t have any reason to come to your garden.
• Being caught out in cold weather.
• Going without water or visiting very dry gardens.

Once you’ve put the effort in and set up your garden as the right environment for Ladybirds, you don’t need to wait for them to come.  You can purchase them!  That’s right, you most certainly can.  Mr Google will help you to  locate a place to purchase from, and purchase would include instructions on steps to take prior to release of them into your garden.

Do you remember as a child reciting this nursery rhyme whenever you had a Ladybird on your hand and you were setting it free? There were various versions (using Ladybird or Ladybug) but this is the one I remember:

Ladybug, ladybug fly away home,
Your house is on fire and your children are gone,
All but one,
And her name is Ann,
And she hid under the frying pan.

Ladybug, ladybug fly away home,
Your house is on fire and your children are gone,
All but one,
And her name is Ann,
And she hid under the frying pan.

I never really thought too much about the words when I was a child but as an adult the words seem quite brutal for a child’s nursery rhyme don’t you think?  So I did a little poking around and discovered the origins of the words for this nursery rhyme. 

Farmers knew of the Ladybird’s value in reducing the level of pests in their crops and it was traditional for them to cry out the rhyme before they burnt their fields following harvests (this reduced the level of insects and pests) in deference to the helpful ladybird:

“Ladybird, ladybird fly away home,
Your house in on fire and your children are gone”

The English word ladybird is a derivative of the Catholic term “Our Lady”.  The tradition of calling this rhyme was believed to have been used as a seemingly innocent warning cry to Catholics (recusants) who refused to attend Protestant services as required by the Act of Uniformity (1559 & 1662).  This law forbade priests to say Mass and forbade communicants to attend it.  Consequently, Mass was held secretly in the open fields.  Laymen were subject to jail and heavy fines and priests to execution.  Many priests were executed by the terrible death of being burnt alive at the stake or, even worse, being hung, drawn and quartered.  The most famous English recusants were Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot Conspirators.

It is possible that the word Ladybird was exchanged for Ladybug in the American version of the nursery rhyme, due to the word association with Firebug meaning an arsonist or pyromaniac.  The first publication date was 1865 and the word ladybird was used as opposed to ladybug.  There has been some speculation that this Nursery Rhyme originates from the time of the Great Fire of London in 1966.

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What do you call them – Ladybug, Ladybird, or Ladybeetle?  Do you ever see them in your garden these days?  Did you used to recite the nursery rhyme as a child?

Ciao for now,

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