Abundant Fall Bugs – Lady beetles and Bees
Have you noticed there seems to be a lot more lady beetles (also known as ladybugs) and bees out lately? This is a common occurrence on sunny fall days. Today I'll explain why they are out in such numbers at this time of year, and what you can do to avoid them.
We'll start with lady beetles, which are little round beetles with a mustard-color, orange or pink back with black spots. The type that occurs in such large numbers is usually the multicolored Asian Lady beetle. These beetles are beneficial insects and were first imported from Asia and released in attempts to naturally control certain insect pests. They are an effective, natural control for harmful plant pests such as aphids, scale and other soft-bodied arthropods. Still, its tendency to overwinter in homes and other buildings, sometimes in large numbers, may make them a nuisance to many people.
Lady beetles enter your home in the fall to find a warm protected place to overwinter. They usually stay in small cracks and the walls, but some may become active on warm days in late winter or early spring and move into living areas searching for a way out. The best way to prevent them entering your house is to caulk exterior cracks and crevices before fall.
Lady beetles are not structure-damaging pests, unlike insects such as termites and carpenter ants. Lady beetles do not chew or bore holes in walls or eat carpet or furniture. They do not lay their eggs in homes and are generally harmless.
The only thing that really could damage a home is if they are agitated or squashed, the beetles may exhibit a defensive reaction known as “reflex bleeding,” in which a yellow fluid with an unpleasant odor is released from leg joints. This reaction generally prevents predators, such as birds, from eating lady beetles. But in the home, the fluid may stain walls and fabrics.
The most effective way to remove Lady beetles from your home is to vacuum them. Once they are in your vacuum bag, they die because their breathing pores (spiracles) get clogged with dust. It is only a myth that they go on living and breeding in your vacuum!
Now on to yellow jackets and bees, which are out in force looking for food at this time of year. This isn't the only time that bees are foraging for food, but it is the time that people are most likely to encounter them. As we're enjoying the last nice days of late summer and fall outside, bees are out looking for proteins and sugars, and that's primarily what we use as refreshments, so they will swarm around your pop or your hamburger. The way to avoid bees and wasps is to remove what is attracting them, which is food, beverages and garbage. This is the time of the year that wasp and bee colonies are at their peak. They have been working all summer long, the queen has been reproducing, and the colonies have been growing. Some yellow jacket colonies have several thousand individuals at this point in time.
Bees and wasps are beneficial insects, but if you have a nest in your house, that is a different story. A bee nest must be taken out by a professional, because even if you kill the bees with pesticide, the honey is still in the wall. When this honey ferments, it can seep through your wall and attract other bugs.
Yellow jackets are actually wasps, and their nests are less messy. They will not re-use it the following year, so if you can wait until the first or second good solid freeze, the wasps will disappear on their own.
A lot of people mistake yellow jackets for honey bees. There are a couple of ways homeowners can tell them apart. Wasps generally do not have a hairy abdomen, bees generally do. Yellow jackets often have a little more distinct separation between the blacks and the yellows - the stripes are more defined. If you're not sure, collect one and take it to a county Extension office.
Until next week, enjoy fall colors and the lakes!
Moriya Rufer is the Lakes Monitoring Program Coordinator for RMB Environmental Laboratories in Detroit Lakes, 218-846-1465, lakes.rmbel@eot.com.