Posted on 04/25/2013 7:33:32 PM PDT by Daffynition
What sounds like an April Fools’ Day prank was actually intentional -- the Mall of America celebrated Earth Day on Monday by voluntarily releasing 72,000 ladybugs into its indoor shopping facility.
The ladybugs were released in the Minneapolis mall in an effort to protect the large amounts of the mall's greenery, which are usually plagued by aphids.
Mall of America Senior Manager of Environmental Services Lydell Newby told Kare 11 that the bugs take the place of commonly used pesticides to control pests that would otherwise eat away at the mall's tropical plants.
(Excerpt) Read more at ibtimes.com ...
Yeah but the little punks stink and bite.
I like my good old fashioned bugs.
:)
The box elder bugs only come where there are box elder TREES and if you don’t control them, the south side of your house will be red with them in spring. Horrid ugly prehistoric looking bugs. Had lots in MT.
Never buy a house with a box elder tree in the yard, or in the neighbors’ yards.
There are quite a few old wives tales or superstitions centered around the cute little ladybug. Here is a rundown on the different believes throughout history and even today on the ladybug.
The Norse believed that the ladybug came to earth by lightning and was connected to the goddess of love and beauty.
Weather and Harvest:
In northern Germany, counting the spots on the backs of ladybugs would tell if they could sell their harvest. If the ladybug had less than seven spots that meant they would have a large harvest.
In England, seeing a ladybug meant they would have a good harvest.
The French believe that a ladybug in their vineyard is a sign of good weather.
Austrians would ask ladybugs for good weather.
Love, Marriage and Children:
In Sweden if a ladybug walks on a girl’s hand it signifies that it is measuring her hand for wedding gloves, which means she will be married soon.
In Central Europe if is on a girls hand and it crawls under her hand she will marry within the year.
If a ladybug lands on you and then flies away watch it carefully, the way it flies is the direction of your true love.
When a ladybug lands on a woman in Burgundy, she should count the dots to see how many children she will have.
Good Luck:
The country dwellers of England believe the spots on a ladybug stand for the months of happiness that are to come.
In Canada, is finding ladybugs in your garage, during the winter is a sign of good luck. If you pick up the ladybug and make a wish the way it flies is the direction in which the luck will come.
Bad Luck:
Killing a ladybug is believed to bring bad luck.
New items:
In Kentucky, the old wives tale is that if a ladybug lands on you will be getting a new shirt, dress, jeans or whatever it lands on.
The same goes for in your home, if a ladybug flies into your home and lands on your television be prepared for a brand new television.
There are lady bugs and then there are asian imposters which were imported by our government which did not know the difference. Th asian ones were released everywhere as a good aphid killing alternative to pesticides.
The problem is, these bugs are not climatized to USA so what they do is come inside and hibernate in your attic or other warm spots in your house, especially on the South facing side. Once they move in they will always remember your house and I have been in houses where whole inside walls are covered with them. They fly around and they stink, leaving your home with a distinctive odor. They come back every year in fall, come out in the spring to torment your household while hatching youn ones, and then do their job outside in the summer.
I hope the mall and all their customers will not be plagued by the recurrence of this problem for the next umpteen years.
Unintended consequences for sure.
‘Bad Luck: Killing a ladybug is believed to bring bad luck.”
Hence the many years that zillions of them have over-wintered in an aquarium I prepared for them.
They really enjoy diluted raw honey.
The imposters just come in to die on the window sills, apparently.
Every October, what seems like a bazillion of them congregate on the south side of my house.
A few come in but they seem to be just stopping over for several days before going elsewhere.
It’s freaky.
She ain’t no lady!
:D
That is very disturbing.
This the kind of idea that could spawn a whole new horror movie franchise.
I hate to tell you to beware because they probably are in your attic or siding during winter. Seems to happen most often in houses with cedar shake roofs or some easily available crevices. My sister has swarms of them every year and one fall I was staying in her upstairs bedroom with the window open, screen in and the uglies came in and covered the south wall inside. She vacuumed them up but I wasn’t convinced they were dead. It seems they have pheromes? that they leave behind to mark their place so they know where it’s safe. YUK
This sounds like my uncle’s places. But where are pictures of these different bugs? What are the species so we might look it up? I’ve never experienced a ladybug biting me as many are claiming, so I can’t use that as a sign.
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