ladybugs | Tuesdays with Laurie

One of my daily treks along the Boise Greenbelt revealed a new addition—a native plant and pollinator garden.

A posted sign explains:

“As the human population grows, so does our impact on the natural world. Buildings, roadways, and crops crowd out or completely eliminate the natural habitat needed by some species to survive. Pollinators are among those whose numbers are in decline.

“The City of Boise has installed an ‘insect hotel‘ at this location to provide a safe nesting site for insect pollinators. Its proximity to flowering plants ensures an adequate supply of nectar for feeding, and the hotel’s nooks and crevices offer a safe place for rearing offspring.”

In 2017, my sister gave me 1,500 ladybugs for my birthday. They arrived via special delivery with a “hotel.” And while the ladybugs didn’t take up residence in it (they were having too much fun eliminating aphids in the rose bushes), lots of other insects did. We have it located against the carport wall, underneath one of the rosebushes. It looks like a miniature version of the one in the native plant and pollinator garden along the Boise Greenbelt.

Do you, or does your city, take steps to promote native plants and pollinators?

It’s hard to shop for a minimalist. After all, we don’t want anything. So for my milestone birthday (I turn 60 on Sept 28), I received the coolest gift from my sister—1,500 live ladybugs!

Following the instructions to the letter, we waited until dusk, used a mister to spray the leaves with water, lightly dusted the accompanying ladybug food on the damp leaves, and then ever so carefully, released the ladybugs—a few here, a few there, until they were all free from the shavings in the mesh bag they’d arrived in.

GARDEN FRIENDLY
“Gardeners greatly appreciate ladybugs as they eat aphids (each ladybug eats up to 5,000 aphids during its six-week life-cycle), mealybugs, mites, and scale bugs. These are all insects that destroy the habitat of the garden. Ladybug adults and larvae feed on pests they will eat the harmful bugs so your flowering plants can flourish.”

SYMBOLISM
“A ladybug is the perfect symbol for lady luck. The ladybug brings luck and abundance wherever she goes. When you see a ladybug, make a wish, and when you see her fly away, you’ll know she’s off to grant it.”

What was your most recent wish?

Tuesdays with Laurie

"Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing." —Laurie Buchanan

Tag Archives: ladybugs

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