... I has one and it has ladybugs. Here are the photos to prove it.
The story so far, in case you missed it. Short version: I'm growing cotton because I'm a nut. The cotton is being attacked by aphids which are being protected by ants. I've spent more than a week trying to get rid of the ants with borax-laced bait. By yesterday, the bait looked to have done its job, so it was time for the aviary and the ladybugs. The aviary is there to keep the ladybugs from flying away before they eat the aphids.
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The cotton patch with an irrigation pipe frame.
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The ants have been suppressed. A few are left, but not many.
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Lots and lots of aphids!
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I ordered a 10x20 shade cloth. The bed is 8' long. This is a 6x13, not a 10x20. Grrr.
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The view down the length of the aviary before the end caps are placed.
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The end caps were another 6x13 piece of shade cloth. That one arrived as ordered. The gaps had to be accepted.
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Ladybugs!
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On patrol.
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I haven't had a chance this morning to do damage assessment. I'm afraid that quite a few of my dotted allies flew out of the aviary through the 2' gap in the cover.
Like I said before, grrrr.
In any case, I think this will work well.
Nice. Although, I understand what you *really* want is for them to stick around long enough to lay eggs, and get the ladybug *larvae* going to town in there. I understand that, since the larvae are actively growing, they eat more aphids than the adults do. Now that you have the ants sidelined so that they won't eat the ladybug eggs, they should be able to do that.
ReplyDeleteYou could maybe look into lacewing eggs, too. They also eat aphids, and I understand they are better at dodging ants than ladybugs are.
https://www.arbico-organics.com/category/Green-Lacewings-chrysoperla-beneficial-insects