I think the ladybugs are perhaps looking for a protected environment for
winter hibernation. I base this theory on an experience I had a few
winters ago when I encountered a huge number of ladybugs of very varied
markings and colors, clustered together behind a large wooden panel in a
storage building. They were clearly alive, but very torpid. I believe the
eggs are laid in spring (I noticed a lot of the little yellow oval-shaped
eggs on vegetation late April) and in good conditions, the tiny larvae
hatch out approx a week later.

Michele Herzberg
foxglove at jps.net

----------------

>To: "'Tweeters'" <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
>Subject: Ladybug invasion
>
>
>We've been having one of those ladybug invasions at work the last couple =
>of days; about 40 of them on my floor alone had penetrated the defenses =
>of our almost-hermetically-sealed office building, while thousands more =
>were moving up and down the walls of all four floors. A couple of large =
>spiders were enjoying the windfall, but I noticed an utter lack of birds =
>on the scene. Granted, the setting in question would not be a terribly =
>productive feeding area generally speaking, but the scale of this event =
>seems to me to be more than sufficient to attract the attention of =
>passing birds.
>
>Question: what bird species are particularly fond of ladybugs? =
>Something that occurred to me was that their orange-and-black color =
>scheme might indicate that they are toxic, or at least pretending to be, =
>like various other organisms with similar coloration. Can anyone =
>confirm or deny this? The spiders can't even make a dent in all that =
>protein.
>
>I got the impression that they were all one species, but was struck by =
>the wide variation in color and spotting. Is there anything to be =
>divined from individual appearance?
>
>Also, can anyone tell me what this event is about? Are they mating, =
>trying to lay eggs, or electing a new president? Seems to me I've read =
>about this, but I don't recall. Their behavior was inscrutable...
>
>Jim McCoy
>jfmccoy at earthlink.net
>Redmond, WA