Sunday, February 21, 2010

Cabbage Aphid

According to UC Davis, my broccoli and Brussels Sprouts have been infected with Cabbage Aphids.  Bastards!  DSC_0995_3230 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.DSC_0474_509copy 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:image

Lady bugs, come on down!    

2 comments:

John's Arts & Crafts said...

Very good blog & photos! New blog on the Hx. of the Ladybug: http://historyoftheladybug.blogspot.com/

MAYBELLINE said...

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.