Ladybugs have flooded gardens and vegetable gardens – cute-looking cows calmly destroy aphids, for which gardeners love them

Many gardeners and gardeners this summer received unexpected help in the fight against aphids – ladybugs came to their aid, which effectively eat aphids. Ladybugs fly from place to place in search of food, and they can be attracted in the same way as bees and bumblebees – with the help of flowering plants.

Gardeners note that this summer there are much more ladybirds than usual. In the Verkko city public vegetable garden in Turku, they were seen in large numbers in the beds, bushes and flowers.

Despite the heat and lack of rain, there is enough moisture for aphids to reproduce, and it is these insects that are the favorite food of ladybirds.

Ari Karhilahti from the Zoological Museum at the University of Turku also faced an invasion of ladybirds.

– We were with the children in Puuhamyaki Lunapark, and they were terribly upset when they saw that hundreds, if not thousands of ladybirds were swimming in the pond. The children rushed to save them, so there was practically no time left for the rides, smiles Karhilahti.

According to Karhilahti, cute-looking ladybugs are real killing machines, and aphids are usually the object of their attention.

– Ladybug eats unthinkable amounts of aphids. Some species of these insects are even used in gardens and greenhouses as biological weapons against pests. They are much better at killing them than insecticides.

According to Karhilahti, ladybugs come to Finland, including from Russia. For example, 5 years ago, an invasion of Russian cows was noted, who went to Finland in search of food. On long journeys, the cows are helped by air currents.

– In 2016, ladybugs from Russia flooded Finland. They bred on the other side of the border as it was a nice warm summer. When the cows ate all the aphids on the Russian side, and the heat began, they went to Finland for fresh food.