Habitat of a Ladybug

Ladybugs live in a wide variety of habitats. Trees, shrubs, feilds, beaches, and even houses are good places to look for them. Since ladybugs are very tiny insects, they escape other prey noticing them. A good method of finding them is by "sweeping". This involves passing an insect net through grassy areas or low shrubbery with sweeping motions. After several sweeps taken, examine the contents of the net. In appropriate areas this will frequently turn up many ladybugs. Ladybugs are also found under dark and cool places which are around trees and under grassy areas.

During the autum, ladybugs crawl to overwinering sires where a few to several hundred will gather in an aggregation. The aggregation site mass is to be located at the base of a tree, along a fence row, under a fallen tree or under a rock. Ladybugs are often found under leaves which protect them from cold winter temperatures. Some aggregrate in large numbers on the sunny-side of the house.

Picture from Colin Denholm

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