This is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English AgricultureReport.
There are lots of insects thatfarmers hate. But there also are some they like. These protect cropsagainst damage from other insects. A good example is the ladybeetle, also known as the ladybug.
Lady beetles are a natural control for aphids. Aphids are tinyinsects that develop colonies on plants and eat plant fluids. Aphidscan also spread crop diseases. Adult lady beetles can eat fiftyaphids a day. The young beetle larvae can eat hundreds of aphids.
Lady beetles are red, orange or black. They often have blackspots, though some have light colored spots. Different kinds of ladybeetles have different numbers of spots. There are lady beetles withfour, five, seven and fourteen spots.
Many of the well-known kinds of lady beetles come from Asia orEurope. They now are common throughout the United States.
American scientists imported one kind of lady beetle, themulticolored Asian lady beetle, as early as nineteen-sixteen. Theyreleased them as an attempt to control some kinds of inspects. Overthe years, the beetle has become established, possibly helped bysome that arrived with imported plants on ships.
Experts say over four-hundred-fifty kinds of lady beetles arefound in North America. Some are native to the area. Others havebeen brought from other places. Almost all are helpful to farmers.Two kinds, however, are not. The Mexican bean beetle and the squashbeetle eat plants.
The Asian lady beetles now in the United States probably camefrom Japan. The Asian lady beetle eats aphids that affect crops likesoybeans, fruits and berries.
In the southern United States, Asian lady beetles have reducedthe need for farmers to use pest-killing poisons on pecan trees.This popular tree nut suffers from aphids and other pests that thebeetles eat.
But some people say the Asian lady beetle has itself become apest. This time of year, lady beetles have no food after crops havebeen harvested. It is time for them to prepare for winter. Normallythis is in the ground, but it can also be in someone’s home. Somefarmers also worry that the beetles may eat their late-autumn fruitcrops.
Experts say Asian lady beetles may appear in large numbers insome years. But they say the insects are too helpful to considerpests.
This VOA Special English Agriculture Report was written by MarioRitter. This is Steve Ember.