It's Friday, Missians!
Yay! The weekend awaits us yet again. Along with ushering in the weekend, today also marks the last of our Hibernation Nation, Animals of the Week--even though today's "animal" isn't actually an animal. Nope. It's an insect. A ladybug to be exact. And yes, ladybugs do hibernate. But how does that work? The answer to that question is provided by Everything-Ladybug.com, (which is where today's partial Ladybug article originates). Enjoy!
http://everything-ladybug.com/ladybug-facts.html
Diapause is the insect version of hibernation. It is thought that ladybugs engage in this activity to conserve resources and to facilitate reproduction. These cute but sometimes mischievous little critters gather in places such as tree trunks, logs, ground cover, buildings & sometimes in peoples homes when temperatures drop below 55 degrees. Ladybugs require heat acquired from their environment to maintain and regulate their body temperature. Below this temperature you will not see ladybugs active or flying around.
In the southwestern U.S. they gather on the ground and cover it like a blanket of red and black. They live off of their own energy reserves during this period and can survive in diapause for up to nine months. Ladybugs will come out of this state when the temperature reaches 55 degrees Farenheit (13 degrees Celsius). This is usually consistent with food sources becoming available again.
Bonus Ladybug Facts:
Ladybugs are beetles. Not all beetles are ladybugs.
Like all insects, ladybugs communicate through chemical signals (pheremones), movements, and behavior. ladybugs can learn a great deal of information through their sense of smell.
*Not all ladybugs are orange or red. ladybugs can be many different colors such as black, pink, yellow, and more.
*When a ladybug flies, it beats its wings about 5100 times a minute or about 85 beats a second.
*Ladybugs chew their food side to side.
*A gallon jug would hold anywhere between 72,000 and 80,000 ladybugs, though I don't recommend trying to accomplish this task.
*Ladybugs are the official state insect of Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Tennessee.
*Even though in certain areas ladybugs invade peoples homes, they are not a structure damaging pest. They will not chew or bore holes in walls, furniture or carpet.
*Ladybugs may hibernate indoors but will not reproduce or lay eggs in homes.
Thanks for checking out our last 2018 Hibernation Nation post! We may revisit this theme again in January 2019. Stay tuned! Check out additional ladybug facts not included in today's post, at:
http://everything-ladybug.com/ladybug-facts.html
And remember, we don't have a Missy Show episode for tomorrow, but we will return next Saturday, March 3rd, with an all new show. Check back here Monday for our upcoming episode schedule through April, and all of our Monsters of March blog post dates.
Until Monday,
This is your host J,
signing off...
Yay! The weekend awaits us yet again. Along with ushering in the weekend, today also marks the last of our Hibernation Nation, Animals of the Week--even though today's "animal" isn't actually an animal. Nope. It's an insect. A ladybug to be exact. And yes, ladybugs do hibernate. But how does that work? The answer to that question is provided by Everything-Ladybug.com, (which is where today's partial Ladybug article originates). Enjoy!
http://everything-ladybug.com/ladybug-facts.html
Diapause (Ladybug Hibernation):
Diapause is the insect version of hibernation. It is thought that ladybugs engage in this activity to conserve resources and to facilitate reproduction. These cute but sometimes mischievous little critters gather in places such as tree trunks, logs, ground cover, buildings & sometimes in peoples homes when temperatures drop below 55 degrees. Ladybugs require heat acquired from their environment to maintain and regulate their body temperature. Below this temperature you will not see ladybugs active or flying around.
In the southwestern U.S. they gather on the ground and cover it like a blanket of red and black. They live off of their own energy reserves during this period and can survive in diapause for up to nine months. Ladybugs will come out of this state when the temperature reaches 55 degrees Farenheit (13 degrees Celsius). This is usually consistent with food sources becoming available again.
Bonus Ladybug Facts:
Ladybugs are beetles. Not all beetles are ladybugs.
Like all insects, ladybugs communicate through chemical signals (pheremones), movements, and behavior. ladybugs can learn a great deal of information through their sense of smell.
*Not all ladybugs are orange or red. ladybugs can be many different colors such as black, pink, yellow, and more.
*When a ladybug flies, it beats its wings about 5100 times a minute or about 85 beats a second.
*Ladybugs chew their food side to side.
*A gallon jug would hold anywhere between 72,000 and 80,000 ladybugs, though I don't recommend trying to accomplish this task.
*Ladybugs are the official state insect of Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Tennessee.
*Even though in certain areas ladybugs invade peoples homes, they are not a structure damaging pest. They will not chew or bore holes in walls, furniture or carpet.
*Ladybugs may hibernate indoors but will not reproduce or lay eggs in homes.
Thanks for checking out our last 2018 Hibernation Nation post! We may revisit this theme again in January 2019. Stay tuned! Check out additional ladybug facts not included in today's post, at:
http://everything-ladybug.com/ladybug-facts.html
And remember, we don't have a Missy Show episode for tomorrow, but we will return next Saturday, March 3rd, with an all new show. Check back here Monday for our upcoming episode schedule through April, and all of our Monsters of March blog post dates.
Until Monday,
This is your host J,
signing off...
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