rec.gardens.ecosystems homepage -> archive: MOD$000112.13938@rec.gardens.ecosystems



Subject: Re: Companion Plants
From: "Bill Robinson" <roseguy@gte.net>
Organization:
Date: Wed, 12 Jan 00 08:30:19
Message-ID: <MOD$000112.13938@rec.gardens.ecosystems>



Sean Phelan asks if beneficial insects are omnivores and
need both nectar and living prey. He asked specifically
about ladybird beetles.

Commo-Sense Pest Control" by Olkowski, Olkowski, & Daar
has a write-up on the feeding habits of ladybird beetles
and makes no mention of their feeding on nectar. They do,
however, need water. The newly hatched ladybird beetles
may feed on some of their empty shells and some of their late
emerging brothers and sisters, but mostly they feed on a
variety of prey and continue this feeding pattern throughout
their life.

Ladybird beetles, as well as many of the other "beneficial
insects", have the ability to survive without daily feeding.
They get through lean times by drawing on their fat. Olkowski
cites "The Common Insects of North America" by L.A. Swan
and C.S. Papp as his primary reference on the nutritional
patterns of beneficials.

Bill

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