LADYBIRD SPOTTING
Ladybirds are around despite the increasingly cold weather. I discovered some while I was taking part in the National Wild Pollinator count a few weeks back (see www.wildpollinatorcount.com for more information of this event, which occurs in autumn and spring).
Ladybirds aren’t pollinators, but I included the one I spied. That particular ladybird was on a cosmos because of a little cluster of aphids, which I hope she was feeding on. I left her to get on with it.
The other active ladybirds are dealing with another garden problem: powdery mildew. If you have powdery mildew on any plants at the moment take a moment to check for a cute yellow and black spotted ladybird. I found more than 20 on a mildewed dahlia in a friend’s garden. He had been going to cut it back but is leaving it for now for the ladybirds.
A Tasmanian ladybird is also making news in New Zealand, where it was introduced in the 1970s. Our southern ladybird, Cleobora mellyi, predates on insects in acacia and eucalypt species, but across the Tasman it is being trialled as a predator against the serious agricultural pest, the tomato potato psyllid.
If this little creature brings this serious pest under control it will make it a hero around the world!
Quiz answers: 1. Tim Paine 2. Street Smart 3. Kyushu 4. Sheep 5. The Underground Railroad 6. Claudia Schiffer 7. Blue, red 8. Maroon 5 9. False 10. Adelaide United 11. Beat 12. North Carolina 13. Ralph Fiennes 14. Bangladesh 15. Queensland 16. Ninky Nonk 17. Lake Erie 18. Piano 19. Vincent van Gogh 20. Sudan, Libya 21. True 22. Red 23. Melbourne Storm 24. World War I 25. J. R. R. Tolkien 26. Fremantle Dockers 27. Copenhagen 28. Bloody Mary 29. Patrick Stewart 30. Nick Kyrgios
Target word answers: acne, acre, cane, caner, cant, canter, cape, caper, care, careen, career, carer, caret, carnet, carp, CARPENTER, carper, carpet, cart, carte, carter, cate, cater, caterer, cent, centra, centre, cerate, cetane, crane, crape, crate, crater, create, creep, crenate, crepe, crept, enact, epact, erect, nacre, nectar, pace, pacer, pact, peace, pecan, pecten, pence, percent, prance, prancer, race, racer, react, recant, recanter, recap, recent, recept, recreant, recta, retrace, tenace, tenrec, terce, terrace, trace, tracer, trance.