vendor Natural Pest Control

So i have aphids, yeehaaa(!)
 
I did have an army of Ladybirds/Ladybugs in spring as there were heaps of them around the garden but as we got in to summer they just vanished for some reason.
 
Living in Scotland my weather varies as you can imagine! Thus i take my 14 plants in and out of the house a lot so of course the Ladybird/bug with wings can fly away at any time BUT their larvae can't so they stick to the plants they were introduced to.
 
I done the soapy water in a spray bottle, wiping the leaves down with kitchen roll routine a few times but they just keep coming back & 14 plants is a lot of time to do that so i thought i would catch more Ladybirds/bugs but for some reason they have vanished over summer.
 
I decided to look further online for a solution to my aphid problem;my dad suggested Basil which i am also growing and has been next to 3 of the plants that are the most infested. I then found in my search people selling live Ladybugs/birds. Again i didn't feel like paying for a solution that could fly away or would have my plants miss out on the valuable days of sunshine rays that can last days then vanish for a week or longer!!
 
I then saw that the vendor offered the larvae that can't fly and are native to the UK to also help with the Harlequin problem which eat our native bugs. I am very in to this idea of helping boost our native bugs so i went for it! 50 of the British Adalia bipunctata ladybird larvae (Two spot) for £12.75 or deals if you buy more.
 
Honestly i was there for hours with a magnifying glass and tweezers sorting through the shredded paper in the wee container. A few brave larvae were up for exploring as soon as the little box was opened and crawled out on to my hand lol. They were nice and easy to get on to a few plants but then there were the ones that had grown to like their home they were delivered in lol They were the ones that made me sit for hours and mean hours until i found every single one of them. I found roughly 40 of my 50. There could be some that are in a state of change still as there are little black dots that could be them in the tub. So i didn't throw out the box and am instead keeping an eye on my box just in case some do change in to larvae i can identify, but even if 10 didn't make it, it was not from lack of trying. I completely believe that the vendor will have added 50+ to the box and they gave it 1st class delivery so that they get the quickest delivery they can so they are not sitting in a van for days. The delivery was really fast. It showed me just how fast items can really be if other vendors were honest about their dispatch dates on e-bay because i have had in the past problems with vendors saying they dispatched on the date of purchase with 1st class and the item taking more than a week to get here. This took 2 days after purchase to get here.
 
Communication with the vendor has been good so far to me when i am asking questions. I have still been seeing them on the plants a night after and even when i had fully grown Ladybirds/bugs i at times thought they had all flown out a window to find i had still 6 or 7 a day or 2 later so they will be harder to find than adults but i know they are there since i have been seeing some.
 
And the best thing about this solution, NO PESTICIDES!!! I would hate to have to use chemicals etc on my plants :( 
 
There are still aphids but i don't expect them to have cleared the entire plant in one night alone lol.
 
Anyway i enjoy just looking for them and realized they patrol exactly like they do as adults :) I can't wait to witness them munching on some aphids. Be careful when getting them out the box, some are so small if i didn't have the magnifying glass i would have thrown a few aside thinking they were something else!
 
They have other options such as selling them in their hundreds with release bags that allow you to release them in outdoor bushes and trees etc 
 
So if you are in the UK and in the same kind of situation instead of reaching for chemicals you could help our native bugs reclaim our gardens! They also will pupate in to adults so once they have fed on all the aphids you could set them free once they are adults or keep them to repeat the process of them laying more larvae.
 
Here is the link. I hope someone gets use of it :) They sell other garden stuff too including adult Ladybirds/bugs.
 
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ladybird-larvae-pack-of-50-control-pests-greenfly-blackfly-aphids-native-British/113750583961?hash=item1a7c102a99:g:m3wAAOSwQydcoz0I
 
And here is their main page 
 
https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/nemaslug?_trksid=p2047675.l2559
 
Mitchcraft said:
 
 
I did have an army of Ladybirds/Ladybugs in spring as there were heaps of them around the garden but as we got in to summer they just vanished for some reason.
 
 
lol, yup they have never stuck around when I put them directly on top of the aphids, I have never seen them nibble on Aphids, the Aphid wasps on the other hand treat them like a smorgasbord and make quick work of them, wiping them out.
Basil and Common Thyme are great for anti nastiest, I have the Thyme here and their but dont want to jinx it. Dont get the hybrids go with the original herbs. I ordered some Greek Oregano seeds to grow, its very pungent so hope that adds to the protection in winter.
 
Good Luck
 
dragonsfire said:
 
lol, yup they have never stuck around when I put them directly on top of the aphids, I have never seen them nibble on Aphids, the Aphid wasps on the other hand treat them like a smorgasbord and make quick work of them, wiping them out.
Basil and Common Thyme are great for anti nastiest, I have the Thyme here and their but dont want to jinx it. Dont get the hybrids go with the original herbs. I ordered some Greek Oregano seeds to grow, its very pungent so hope that adds to the protection in winter.
 
Good Luck
 
Oh i have a wasp. I just got back from a weeks holiday and only found 5-6 decent sized larvae, so who knows what happened to the other 40+ :'(
 
While i was watching my 5-6 on a plant still covered in aphids there was this little black thing running around and i was going to kill it but thought nah the larvae can have it!
 
Then i noticed something crazy under the magnifying glass. The little thing was attacking the aphids like a wasp would, trying to attack with its stinger from under its self like a wasp would. Then i saw all the aphids doing this shaking motion, like they were dancing. I had to google what was going on. I had been seeing these aphids that looked gold/pearl like and found out this was a process of them being stung and paralyzed by a parasite wasp we have here in the UK no bigger than 2mm long! As for the shacking motion there is no info on whether that is them trying to protect them selves or if it is due to them being stung.
 
It was great to watch though lol
 
Found this wasp attacking aphids on youtube. It stings backwards though rather from under its self.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tp6Q95VyK8
 
I discovered something pretty cool today. Pupa will flick when they feel they are under attack from wasps etc but what i noticed was that when one ladybird/bug pupa flicks the others in its area start doing it just seconds later too!
 
I figured this out because i thought they might like being in the sun as heat helps them pupate quicker and one started flicking as soon as i put it in the light and then i saw another next to it do the same. I thought nothing of it until today when i done the same and realized they must sense changes in light as a form of defense as they have parasite wasps that can infect them during pupa stage too. 
 
It was amazing today as when i done it the pupa that are away at the other side of the window on completely different plants that were not disturbed by my movement or light changes started flicking along with the rest that i could see,it had all started from the one i had moved then the rest joined in. I have a total of 8 pupating out of the 50. A lot probably were eaten by their brothers and sisters as they can be cannibalistic. Sad but just nature. Anyway i just thought it was really interesting that while in pupation they can still communicate danger to one another and they all start their flicking motion which is used to flick off any sort of parasitic wasp etc. The other thing i found interesting was that the aphids also started doing their defensive shake at the same time. Do ladybirds/bugs mimic aphid scent so they can blend in with them easier? 
 
I will try video it!
 
Oh also maybe staff want to combine these 2 threads to where they think would be best as i am having the same conversation with different people twice in 2 different threads lol http://thehotpepper.com/topic/72159-looking-to-converse-with-anyone-who-has-knowledge-on-ladybirdladybug/
 
You know, I ordered a healthy amount of SF nematodes this spring to, hopefully, destroy my fungal gnats.. I saw little difference. This hoverfly was voracious against the aphids, while it lasted.. I've been hunting for a replacement since it pupated up on me, 8 days ago. 
Today it emerged.
I found this guy on a Composite aphid farm, but it still seemed eager to eat the Nightshade aphids.. Hoping the adult finds the flower resources equally nourishing.

Pupa case
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