According to UC Davis, my broccoli and Brussels Sprouts have been infected with Cabbage Aphids. Bastards! 
With the warmer weather come the insects. UC Davis advises to giving these beasts a sharp blast of water. Insecticidal soap is also helpful. Lady bugs (Lady Beetles) are their natural predators. Last year, the garden had loads of lady bugs. It doesn’t look like I can expect lady bugs to migrate down to the valley floor until March. Last year, I noted lady bugs in the garden on March 29.
March 29, 2009 Lady bug patrolling tomatoes.
Whenever they decide to head on down the hill, I have a feast for them to enjoy. Here’s a life cycle chart of Lady Beetles provided by UC Davis:
Lady bugs, come on down!
2 comments:
Very good blog & photos! New blog on the Hx. of the Ladybug: http://historyoftheladybug.blogspot.com/
Interesting, John. I never thought about ladybugs migrating. As a kid, we used to spend the summer up at Panorama Heights in the Sierras. I remember seeing hoards of lady bugs in rotted out trees.
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