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Ladybugs Make Seasonal Appearance In Md.
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CBS
With cold weather coming, most insects have crawled away to wait for spring.
But as Mike Schuh reports, one critter just waits for this time of year to make itself a nuisance.
It's called a multicolored Asian lady beetle or Halloween ladybug, but scientists know it as harmonia axyridis.
It has quietly spent its spring and summer growing big by eating aphids.
"They're eating pest insects that are on there. They may eat several hundred to over a thousand in the course of a day. If they weren't there, the only other way you would control those would be insecticide, and I'd think you'd rather have beetles than the insecticide," said Dr. Dave Rivers, Loyola entomologist.
But now, it's getting cold. When you get cold, you search for shelter. In Asia it would go for a nice crack in a warm sunny cliff.
"They're actually looking for cracks to try to get into your house," said Rivers. "If they find cracks or you leave the door open long enough, they're going to find their way in."
An entomologist at University of Maryland says the things you would do to save energy are also the things you'd do to keep the bugs from crawling in. That includes weatherstripping and caulking. If your screen is broken, fix it.
So now, the beetles are swarming. Once they're inside, though, don't kill them. Remember the benefits.
"It's designed to eat pest insects that would affect crops, that might infect some of the plants you would find around your home," said Rivers.
Use a piece of paper, or with many, a vacuum cleaner, but don't ignore them.
"If one of those beetles gets in in October and it likes it, then it's going to release pheromones that might tell everyone else to come on in," said Rivers.
Once we have a hard frost, those ladybugs should settle down and go dormant for the winter.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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