Lake Learning
Abundant Fall Bugs – Lady beetles and Bees

Have you noticed there seems to be a lot more lady beetles (also known as ladybugs) and bees
out lately? This is a common occurrence on sunny fall days. Today I'll explain why they are out
in such numbers at this time of year, and what you can do to avoid them.
We'll start with lady beetles, which are little round
beetles with a mustard-color, orange or pink back
with black spots. The type that occurs in such large
numbers is usually the multicolored Asian Lady
beetle. These beetles are beneficial insects and were
first imported from Asia and released in attempts to
naturally control certain insect pests. They are an
effective, natural control for harmful plant pests such
as aphids, scale and other soft-bodied arthropods.
Still, its tendency to overwinter in homes and other
buildings, sometimes in large numbers, may make
them a nuisance to many people.
Lady beetles enter your home in the fall to find a warm protected place to overwinter. They
usually stay in small cracks and the walls, but some may become active on warm days in late
winter or early spring and move into living areas searching for a way out. The best way to
prevent them entering your house is to caulk exterior cracks and crevices before fall.
Lady beetles are not structure-damaging pests, unlike insects such as termites and carpenter ants.
Lady beetles do not chew or bore holes in walls or eat carpet or furniture. They do not lay their
eggs in homes and are generally harmless.
The only thing that really could damage a home is if they are agitated or squashed, the beetles
may exhibit a defensive reaction known as “reflex bleeding,” in which a yellow fluid with an
unpleasant odor is released from leg joints. This reaction generally prevents predators, such as
birds, from eating lady beetles. But in the home, the fluid may stain walls and fabrics.
The most effective way to remove Lady beetles from your home is to vacuum them. Once they
are in your vacuum bag, they die because their breathing pores (spiracles) get clogged with dust.
It is only a myth that they go on living and breeding in your vacuum!
Now on to yellow jackets and bees, which are out in force looking for food at this time of year.
This isn't the only time that bees are foraging for food, but it is the time that people are most
likely to encounter them. As we're enjoying the last nice days of late summer and fall outside,
bees are out looking for proteins and sugars, and that's primarily what we use as refreshments, so
they will swarm around your pop or your hamburger. The way to avoid bees and wasps is to
remove what is attracting them, which is food, beverages and garbage. This is the time of the
year that wasp and bee colonies are at their peak. They have been working all summer long, the
queen has been reproducing, and the colonies have been growing. Some yellow jacket colonies
have several thousand individuals at this point in time.
Bees and wasps are beneficial insects, but if you have a nest in your house, that is a different
story. A bee nest must be taken out by a professional, because even if you kill the bees with
pesticide, the honey is still in the wall. When this honey ferments, it can seep through your wall
and attract other bugs.
Yellow jackets are actually wasps, and their nests are less messy. They will not re-use it the
following year, so if you can wait until the first or second good solid freeze, the wasps will
disappear on their own.
A lot of people mistake yellow jackets for honey bees. There are a couple of ways homeowners
can tell them apart. Wasps generally do not have a hairy abdomen, bees generally do. Yellow
jackets often have a little more distinct separation between the blacks and the yellows - the
stripes are more defined. If you're not sure, collect one and take it to a county Extension office.

RMB LABS This is a great website whose service Grace Lake utilizes.  Please take some time and visit this site
http://rmbel.info/

This is the Link for the video about Starry Stonewort we watched at the meeting.

According to Bob Brouse life is "a bowl of cherries and maybe home made cookie when you live at Grace Lake"
I have to agree!!