Stupid Asian Lady Beetle 'Bit' Me!!!

Okay, it's that time of the year where all the prolific Asian Lady Beetles try and find a place to stay out the winter. They're trying to get into our homes, our cars, the get into our hair, our faces... In short they drive us (well me specifically) crazy.

Okay first a little background on these suckers:

The Asian Lady Beetle, Harmonia axyridis (Pallas), is relatively new to this country. The beetle is native to Asia (e.g., China, Russia, Korea, Japan), where it dwells in trees and fields, preying on aphids and scale insects. The first field populations in the United States were found in Louisiana in 1988. Since then the beetle has expanded its range to include much of the U.S. and parts of Canada. Earliest records in Kentucky date back to a few specimens collected in Hickman County in 1992.

During the 1960s to 1990s, the U.S. Department of Agriculture attempted to establish the Asian lady beetle to control agricultural pests, especially of pecans and apples. Large numbers of the beetles were released in several states including Georgia, South Carolina, Louisiana, Mississippi, California, Washington, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Maryland. Some scientists believe that current infestations in the U.S. originated not from these intentional releases, but from beetles accidentally transported into New Orleans on a freighter from Japan.

At present, Asian lady beetles appear to have few natural enemies. A small percentage of beetles are parasitized by tiny wasps and flies, while up to 80% are infected by a fungus in central Kentucky, which is only occasionally lethal. As a defense against predators, the beetles secrete a foul smelling yellowish fluid from their leg joints when disturbed. Some mortality occurs at sub-freezing temperatures, although survival is enhanced within buildings and other protected locations if adequate moisture or humidity is available.

In its native land, the Asian lady beetle is mainly tree-dwelling, living in forests and orchards. In Japan, it is also abundant in soybean fields. In the U.S., the beetles inhabit ornamental and agricultural crops, including roses, corn, soybeans, alfalfa and tobacco. During spring and summer, the larvae and adults feed mainly on aphids, consuming hundreds per day.

As autumn approaches, the adult beetles leave their summer feeding sites in yards, fields and forests for protected places to spend the winter. Unfortunately, homes and buildings are one such location. Swarms of lady beetles typically fly to buildings in September though November depending on locale and weather conditions. Beetle flights are heaviest on sunny days following a period of cooler weather, when temperatures return to at least the mid-60s. Consequently, most flight activity occurs in the afternoon and may vary in intensity from one day to the next.

Information from the Kentucky College of Ag

Okay so time for how much I HATE these buggers. These insects were INTRODUCED as a solution for aphid control... sounds like a stupid idea to me... "Lets introduce something that has no preditors to take care of a problem. What can go wrong?"

Now we have an over population of something that we cannot get rid of - they are an annoying, smelly problem.

This is the way things go for most exotic species. Rather than going back to the way the ecosystem was created to work, we try to muck with the system - quick solution, lasting problems. By introducing something that isn't supposed to be there or a man made 'solution' we cause more problems later.

God made systems the way they were supposed to work. While He did give man dominion over the earth, maybe we should look at how HE created it to work, and try to restore that.