I know it's been discussed before, But....

[Hoosier_Daddy]

I know it\'s been discussed before, But....

They are taking the beans off the fields around here and the lady bugs are in the air in swarms.

I know they are not true lady bugs. Just some damned mistake the Government made when they messed with Mother Nature years back.

When will they learn?

Tom

 

[NIXON]

Re: I know it\'s been discussed before, But....

No offence Tom . But could you enlighten me on this Urban Legend ?? John

 

[ronjhall]

Re: I know it\'s been discussed before, But....

In fall 2001 and spring 2002 we had a lot of the bugs at our place. They did not reappear in the fall of 2002.
The story at the marina that I keep my boat at was the government planted the ladybugs to control a weed that was taking over the normal habitat of cattails. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif It was never verified. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif
Here is a link to a thread on the bugs. Click Here.

 

[DavidJ]

Re: I know it\'s been discussed before, But....

We have those around here too. I've heard the same story about the government importing them, but instead of it working it just added another insect to the long list of them we have here. They get bad every few years and I figure people kill them off and it takes a few years to rebuild the numbers to be a real pest.

Now if we could only find a way to get rid of the love bugs around here. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[PitbullMidwest]

Re: I know it\'s been discussed before, But....

The "lady bugs" are really Japanese beatles. According to the extension office they are beneficial because they eat aphids from soy beans. After the first hard freeze they go looking for a place to winter and multiply.

We have them by the thousands and beneficial or not they are a pain in the butt. I have yet to hear of a method to get rid of them. We have a daily ritual of vaccuuming them up in a shop vac and then plugging the hose to prevent escape, it's low tech but it keeps the house from being overrun.

BTW, according to a Ag radio show I listen to, the Japanese beatle was never intentionally imported by the government.

 

[MossRoad]

Re: I know it\'s been discussed before, But....

These are Japanese Beetles.

The ones that look like lady bugs are the ones that are causing all the commotion.
Here's a link to Asian Ladybeetles

However, the ones that are causing a fuss here, in Indiana are not the normal red ones with black spots that we have seen for decades. These are more of an orange and seem to be a little rounder. They have only been a problem for the last 5 years or so, around here. And they also tend to bite when attempting to push them off your skin. They are attempting to get inside for the winter. The problem is, it was cold last week, so they all tried to come in. Then it got warm this week, so they are trying to go outside. As long as they close the door behind them, I don't care /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[Spencer]

Re: I know it\'s been discussed before, But....

They just hit my area today. Here is a link to one of our local news channels website. They did a short story on the ladybugs.

Wood TV - Ladybug Story

 

[Hoosier_Daddy]

Re: I know it\'s been discussed before, But....

I read the News Channel Story. I am sticking with my theory. The Fed's had somthing to do with this. These bugs were released to eat something and it didn't work or it worked better than expected and now they are eating us. At least in the fall and the spring.

Ask someone from the Smokey Mountain area what happened to the area of Clingman's Dome. All the trees are gone because the Guv inadvertanly released a bug.

Now we have ASH Tree problems in MICH and OHIO because of a bug that I will bet will be traced to some GUV release.

The ultimate fix for the ASH Tree problem is if the GUV detects an infected tree then every ASH tree in a 3-5 mile radius needs to be cut down.

It is happening right now.


Think about this. That's pretty serious stuff.

I wish I could change the title of this post to "beware of lady bugs and the Guv who released them".

 

[Slamfire]

Re: I know it\'s been discussed before, But....

Livin' in the Smokey's I've heard the pine bark beetle story. The government supposedly released them to feed an endangered woodpecker. Fact is the beetles are indigenous to the area, and are cyclical. Last year, the pines were stressed due to drought, and the beetles had a fieldday killin' off trees. Mostly yellow pines, the white pines at my place are tryin' hard to replace them. And I'm burnin' them that fall down where I can get at 'em.

 

[Hambone]

Re: I know it\'s been discussed before, But....

We have both the Asian and the Jap guys down here. The beatles are more in the hot days of summer and eat my shrubs and flowers.
I have not noticed the Asian ones doing anything but annoying me!!