what eats lady bugs

[Wolfspidurguy]

there are soooo many lady bugs here its starting to get annoying. what eats these guys i figure if i have anything that eats them i can save a little on buying feeders

 

[Chris LXXIX]

'Gentleman' bugs: those eat 'Gentleman' bugs

 

[Chris LXXIX]

Joking... Coccinellidae eat stuff like Aphid/s (at an early stage, I mean) adults can eat flower nectar as well.

 

[Wolfspidurguy]

Joking... Coccinellidae eat stuff like Aphid/s (at an early stage, I mean) adults can eat flower nectar as well.

im not asking what they eat im asking what eats them like i have a very hungry jumper and a lady bug looks like a nice succulent meal for it

 

[Liquifin]

Believe it or not, lady bugs are good for garden usage, because they keep small parasites out from eating plants. But if you're getting rid of them, then dragonflies eat them as well as wasps. Some birds do not eat them because if they had one taste, then they no not to eat them every again (they taste horrible). But some birds such as swallows and certain martins are used to eating them.

 

[Wolfspidurguy]

Believe it or not, lady bugs are good for garden usage, because they keep small parasites out from eating plants. But if you're getting rid of them, then dragonflies eat them as well as wasps. Some birds do not eat them because if they had one taste, then they no not to eat them every again (they taste horrible). But some birds such as swallows and certain martins are used to eating them.

what about spiders or centipedes or scorpions

 

[The wolf]

what about spiders or centipedes or scorpions

They are slightly poisonous or distasteful so it is unlikely that any of them will eat one

 

[mconnachan]

there are soooo many lady bugs here its starting to get annoying. what eats these guys i figure if i have anything that eats them i can save a little on buying feeders

Anything wild caught should be avoided at all costs, especially your prized inverts, leave them for the wildlife, they'll appreciate them, unlike your T's if they have parasites.

 

[Wolfspidurguy]

Anything wild caught should be avoided at all costs, especially your prized inverts, leave them for the wildlife, they'll appreciate them, unlike your T's if they have parasites.

no i mean feed them to my wild caught inverts

 

[The wolf]

no i mean feed them to my wild caught inverts

There is a reason they are so brightly coloured,warning colours

 

[Wolfspidurguy]

There is a reason they are so brightly coloured,warning colours

dang it!

 

[Liquifin]

what about spiders or centipedes or scorpions

Most small spiders like jumping spiders will eat the ladybug larvae and so will ants. But ladybug themselves are an avoid for them, because they have a self defense where they develop this stinky spray against natural predators.

 

[mconnachan]

no i mean feed them to my wild caught inverts

OK - what WC inverts do you have? I'm sure that would be fine, but again still not a good idea due to parasites, your WC inverts may be very healthy, you don't want to introduce parasites to them. IMO.

 

[Wolfspidurguy]

OK - what WC inverts do you have? I'm sure that would be fine, but again still not a good idea due to parasites, your WC inverts may be very healthy, you don't want to introduce parasites to them. IMO.

an unidentified jumper, a hogna carolinensis, and 3 stone centipedes

 

[coniontises]

Well, I would just leave the ladybeetles alone. I know that some warning-colored prey can only poison vertebrates, not invertebrates. But there was a paper somewhere that showed wolfspiders would prefer not to eat hornworms that had fed on wild-type tobacco, because those caterpillars contained nicotine. Better to err on side of caution. http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/12/27/1314848111

But ladybeetles are known to cannibalize weak or immobile conspecifics.

 

[The wolf]

an unidentified jumper, a hogna carolinensis, and 3 stone centipedes

Do you keep your list one centipedes communally ?

 

[Wolfspidurguy]

Do you keep your list one centipedes communally ?

no. thats a thing you can do?

 

[coniontises]

Joking... Coccinellidae eat stuff like Aphid/s (at an early stage, I mean) adults can eat flower nectar as well.

Also, I have witnessed larvae nectaring too. All stages are somewhat omnivorous and have been fed things like pumpkin and pollen in research papers.

 

[The wolf]

no. thats a thing you can do?

I have a little colony of three which I will grow in spring

 

[Wolfspidurguy]

I have a little colony of three which I will grow in spring

i dont wanna risk it