You might notice a few new unwanted roommates clinging to your ceiling or walls. They won’t pay rent and they won’t make much noise, but they could be abundant, and you can expect them to stay all winter.
The Asian Lady Beetle, a beetle that looks much like the common ladybug, has cropped up in New Hampshire houses and buildings this fall looking for a safe place to stay as winter approaches.
According to Alan Eaton, an entomologist with the UNH cooperative extension, the relatively harmless beetle, sometimes called the Halloween ladybug, finds shelter indoors starting in September and lasting through November.
Eaton said the beetle is most attracted to light surfaces and will swarm towards lights, or buildings bathed in sunlight, to find a home in crevices, attics, walls, and on ceilings and doors.
According to Eaton, the beetle was first detected in New Hampshire in 1994. It is native to Asia and is useful in gardens and forests because it eats harmful aphids.
The species was unsuccessfully introduced to the United States as a means of pest control, but in 1988 found its way back to the U.S. traveling through inter-coastal waterways in shipping materials. The beetle was first seen in southern states but has made its way northeast with prevailing winds.
UNH Housekeeping Manager Gene Gargano recognizes that the beetles crop up in some dorms almost every year, but said their presence is usually only noticeable for a few days. Gargano said that the buildings most commonly affected are those that are tall, sunny and near the woods. He noted that Williamson, Christenson and the Gables have been particularly alluring locations for the beetle in past years.
“A few cold days and then some warm ones seem to signal for them to gather,” Gargano said.
3 comments
http://ladybugneedahome.blogspot.com/2008/08/lady-bugs-need-home.html
Ladybugs need a home!
All Creatures have the right to live and to be left alone. The Asian Lady Bug Beetle does not create weapons of destruction, like the so called intelligent human........so give them some shelter and a warm place to sleep.