Oh COME ON people surely you aren’t that clueless!!! If any of you have killed these lovely ladybirds then you’ll wish you hadn’t; not only is it considered bad luck, but also ladybirds are natural ‘pesticides’ and are undoubtedly doing you a favour! The most common species of ladybird are predators – they eat greenfly, whitefly and a few other destructive pests. Greenfly and whitefly are many a gardeners’ worst enemy! A lot of shops actually sell ladybirds by the thousand, as a natural way of pest control, reducing or eliminating the need for chemical pesticides. There are a few, far less common ladybird species that are herbivorous and will munch crops but in general if you see a ladybird then you should be thanking it!
Manuel don’t cry, I think Fixup got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning…..
Fixup – for the record I have never killed a ladybird, my 2 year old would have me jailed!;)Secondly I obviously am clueless as I know nothing about gardening and don’t claim to even though I should as my parents are big gardeners but I’m sure I will learn as I go along. The post was a “cutie post” and not to be taken literally that she was eating the rocket…. the next time I see “Julia” I will say grazie and she can live on my rocket for as long as she likes:)
Hehe sorry that sounded a bit condescending. I recently found out that ladybirds do something called ‘reflex bleeding’ when they feel threatened or are caught by a predator, it comes out of their joints and contains a poisonous chemical (poisonous to other insects, but no doubt harmless to humans) and this leaves a smelly trail on your hand… I have never noticed this myself though, not that I can remember anyway! They also spray other insects with a toxin when threatened…
I grew up with a gardening-obsessed mother, who spent almost all of her time growing vegetables or building sheds or greenhouses. When she wasn’t doing it she was reading about it or watching TV programmes about it…! My only tip would be to get stuck in and maybe join an allotment forum if you need expert advice. Also, go to a small independent nursery rather than megastores like Homebase or B&Q – they are generally much more knowledgable in my experience, and the people who run my local nursery always have time to give some good advice because they are passionate about gardening themselves. There are some good calendar-style books and websites out there that tell you what to do at what time of year – when to plant certain vegetables, when to start preparing the soil and so on. I think I’ve left it too late this year but I’m going to get a greenhouse and try to grow a huge basil plant. Basil is really rare around here and the pots you can buy from the supermarkets seem to have an in-built death timer that goes off after a few weeks…
I just discovered your beautiful blog, and I am in awe of your photographs! I especially love the ladybug photos…
AS – thanks you so much for your lovely comment! I was nothing until I bought my new all singing all dancing camera:)
Ah is the ladybug called Julia??? SO SO SO cute!!!
Surely the ladybird is eating the aphids that might have otherwise decimated your rocket…
Rach – yes she names everything, too cute!:)
fixup – surely!! what do you think I am? a gardener or something, have never even heard of aphids:) I’m shocked my rocket even grew….
Unbelieveably cute!! bless!!!
planted some rocket myself this weekend…….do we approve of ladybirds on rocket? are they a good thing? I’m such a novice….
Oh COME ON people surely you aren’t that clueless!!! If any of you have killed these lovely ladybirds then you’ll wish you hadn’t; not only is it considered bad luck, but also ladybirds are natural ‘pesticides’ and are undoubtedly doing you a favour! The most common species of ladybird are predators – they eat greenfly, whitefly and a few other destructive pests. Greenfly and whitefly are many a gardeners’ worst enemy! A lot of shops actually sell ladybirds by the thousand, as a natural way of pest control, reducing or eliminating the need for chemical pesticides. There are a few, far less common ladybird species that are herbivorous and will munch crops but in general if you see a ladybird then you should be thanking it!
snif sniff…..was only asking……sniff
Manuel don’t cry, I think Fixup got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning…..
Fixup – for the record I have never killed a ladybird, my 2 year old would have me jailed!;)Secondly I obviously am clueless as I know nothing about gardening and don’t claim to even though I should as my parents are big gardeners but I’m sure I will learn as I go along. The post was a “cutie post” and not to be taken literally that she was eating the rocket…. the next time I see “Julia” I will say grazie and she can live on my rocket for as long as she likes:)
Manuel good luck with the rocket! seems easy enough to grow, mine is growng at a rapid pace, I have all my other veg ready to plant too….
Whatever about the rocket, I’m just interested to know how on earth you came up with the name Julia??????
Was it princess’ idea? 
Hehe sorry that sounded a bit condescending. I recently found out that ladybirds do something called ‘reflex bleeding’ when they feel threatened or are caught by a predator, it comes out of their joints and contains a poisonous chemical (poisonous to other insects, but no doubt harmless to humans) and this leaves a smelly trail on your hand… I have never noticed this myself though, not that I can remember anyway! They also spray other insects with a toxin when threatened…
Kats – yep she named her herself
fixup – condescending- NEVER:) very interesting, are you big into gardening? any tips?
I grew up with a gardening-obsessed mother, who spent almost all of her time growing vegetables or building sheds or greenhouses. When she wasn’t doing it she was reading about it or watching TV programmes about it…! My only tip would be to get stuck in and maybe join an allotment forum if you need expert advice. Also, go to a small independent nursery rather than megastores like Homebase or B&Q – they are generally much more knowledgable in my experience, and the people who run my local nursery always have time to give some good advice because they are passionate about gardening themselves. There are some good calendar-style books and websites out there that tell you what to do at what time of year – when to plant certain vegetables, when to start preparing the soil and so on. I think I’ve left it too late this year but I’m going to get a greenhouse and try to grow a huge basil plant. Basil is really rare around here and the pots you can buy from the supermarkets seem to have an in-built death timer that goes off after a few weeks…