The Webster Viridarium
Whether you call them ladybugs, ladybirds, or lady beetles, attracting them to your yard can be beneficial to the health of your plants. Ladybugs primarily prey on aphids, but will also consume mites, mealybugs, thrips, and leafhoppers. When insects are in short supply, ladybugs supplement their diet with pollen and nectar which helps pollinate flowers. Adults ladybugs are healthy eaters and consume around 25 aphids a day. Their larvae are far more voracious and will typically feed on 100-125 aphids a day during their development cycle.
What you can do to attract Ladybugs
Provide Water:
Ladybugs need water. Place a shallow saucer filled with pebbles or wet sand. The pebbles act as landing pads so they can drink safely without falling in and drowning.
Avoid Pesticides:
Insecticides kill ladybugs, not just pests.
Pesticides are the surest way to keep beneficial insects from visiting your garden. Even organic sprays can kill ladybugs or eliminate the aphids they eat.
Keep Some Pests:
The presence of aphids often attracts laybugs to your garden.
Offer Shelter:
Leave some dead foliage, stalks, and leaves in the garden during winter, or provide a few small wooden bug houses.
Allow Herbs to Bloom:
Allow plants like dill and cilantro to flower, as these small, clustered flowers (umbellifers) are favorites of ladybugs.
Plants to attract Ladybugs
Herbs
Dill
Anethum graveolens
Sun: Full sun
Height: 1′-2′ | Width: 1′-2′
Soil: Well-drained slightly moist soil.
Cold stratification: No
Deer resistant: Yes
Cilantro/Coriander
Coriandrum sativum
Sun: Light sun to partial shade
Height: 2′-3′ | Width: 1′-2′
Soil: Moist, but well-drained soil.
Cold stratification: Yes (30 days)
Deer resistant: Mostly
Fennel
Foeniculum vulgare
Sun: Full – partial sun
Height: 3′-5′ | Width: 2′-3′
Soil: Consistently moist, but well-drained soil.
Cold stratification: Yes (14-30 days)
Deer resistant: Yes
Parsley
Petroselinum crispum
Sun: Full – partial sun
Height: 2′-3′ | Width: 1′-2′
Soil: Well-drained moist soil.
Cold stratification: Yes (30-45 days)
Deer resistant: Not really
Chives
Allium schoenoprasum
Sun: Full sun
Height: 1′-2′ | Width: 1′-2′
Soil: Loose soil rich in organic matter.
Cold stratification: Yes (30-45 days)
Deer resistant: Yes
Chevril
Anthriscus cerefolium
Sun: Light sun to partial shade
Height: 1′ | Width: 1′
Soil: Moist, but well-drained soil with plenty of compost.
Cold stratification: No
Deer resistant: Yes
Native Perennials
Common Milkweed
Asclepias syriaca
Sun: Full sun
Height: 3′-5′ | Width: 1′
Soil: Prefers well-drained, sandy, or loamy soil. Withstands poor, dry, or rocky soils, but cannot tolerate wet or heavy clay soils.
Cold stratification: Yes (30-60 days)
Deer resistant: Yes
Purple Coneflower
Echinacea purpurea
Sun: Full sun
Height: 2′-5′ | Width: 1′-2′
Soil: Prefers well-drained, dry to moist average soil.
Cold stratification: Yes (30 days)
Deer resistant: Yes
Yarrow
Achillea Millefolium
Sun: Full – partial sun
Height: 2′-3′ | Width: 1′-2′
Soil: Prefers well-drained, average soil.
Cold stratification: Yes (30 days)
Deer resistant: Yes
Black-Eyed Susan
Rudbeckia hirta
Sun: Full sun
Height: 2′-3′ | Width: 1′-2′
Soil: Prefers well-drained, dry to moist average soil.
Cold stratification: Yes (30-60 days)
Deer resistant: Yes
New England Aster
Aster novae angliae
Sun: Full to partial sun
Height: 3′-5′ | Width: 2′-3′
Soil: Prefers well-drained, dry to moist average soil.
Cold stratification: Yes (30-60 days)
Deer resistant: Yes
Feverfew
Tanacetum parthenium
Sun: Full – partial sun
Height: 3′-4′ | Width: 1′-2′
Soil: Prefers well-drained, humus-rich, moist soil.
Cold stratification: No
Deer resistant: Yes
Annuals
Sunflower
Helianthus annuus
Sun: Full sun
Height: 3′-10′ | Width: 1′-3′
Soil: Prefer well-drained soil, ideally sandy loam.
Cold stratification: Yes (30-60 days)
Deer resistant: Moderately
Cosmos
Cosmos bipinnatus
Sun: Full sun
Height: 1′-6′ | Width: 1′-3′
Soil: Prefers well-drained, moist soil.
Cold stratification: No
Deer resistant: Yes
Zinnia
Zinnia elegans
Sun: Full sun
Height: 1′-4′ | Width: 1′-2′
Soil: Prefers well-drained, fertile soil.
Cold stratification: No
Deer resistant: Mostly
Trap Plants
A trap plant attracts garden pests away from valued plants. The presence of the pest insects attracts ladybugs to the area.
Sweet Alyssum
Lobularia maritima
Sun: Full sun
Height: 2″-12″ | Width: 8″-12″
Soil: Well-drained, average, or sandy soils.
Cold stratification: No
Deer resistant: Yes
Attracts: Attracts beneficial insects like hoverflies and ladybugs that eat aphids, while drawing pests like thrips away from other plants.
Marigold
Tagetes
Sun: Full sun
Height: 6″-4′ | Width: 6″-2′
Soil: Prefers loose, sandy, or loamy soil.
Cold stratification: No
Deer resistant: Yes
Attracts: Western flower thrips, aphids, Japanese beetles, snails, spider mites, potato leaf hoppers, and stalk borers.
Nasturtium
Tropaeolum
Sun: Full – partial sun
Height: 1′-10′ (vine) | Width: 1′-3′
Soil: Poor to average, well-drained soil.
Cold stratification: No
Deer resistant: Yes
Attracts: aphids, whiteflies, cabbage worms, slugs, and snails.
Ladybug species found in New York State
Asian Lady beetle
Harmonia axyridis
Likely the ladybug most often seen in the gardens and homes of New York. It was introduced to North America in 1916 and its population has grown steadily.
Photo: Webster Viridarium
Nine-Spotted Ladybug
Coccinella novemnotata
The official insect of the state of New York is now seldom seen within the state as other non-native species have become more prevalent.
Two-Spotted Ladybug
Adalia bipunctata
A declining native species that isn’t often seen in New York State in recent years. It is still quite common in Europe.
Photo: Henk Wallays
Seven Spotted Ladybug
Coccinella septempunctata
Native to Europe, most of Asia, and North Africa, the Seven spotted ladybug was introduced to North America to help control aphid populations and is now one of the most commonly found species.
Photo: Rachel Travis
Pink-Spotted Lady Beetle
Coleomegilla maculata
A native species with a more oblong shape than the traditional domed shape of most lady beetles.
Photo: Grayson Smith /USFWS
Convergent Lady Beetle
Hippodamia convergens
Convergent lady beetles are native to North America and one of the mostly commonly found throughout the continent.
Photo: USFWS
Thirteen-Spotted Ladybug
Hippodamia tredecimpunctata
Found in wetland areas throughout much of the northern hemisphere.
Fourteen-Spotted Ladybug
Propylea quatuordecimpunctata
Common in the northern hemisphere, the fourteen-spotted ladybug appearance varies dramatically, with over 100 different recorded patterns.
Photo: Paul Reeves
Twenty-Spotted Ladybug
Psyllobora vigintimaculata
A small native species that primarily feeds on mildews.
Photo: Ryan Hodnett
Further reading: Why not to buy Ladybugs.
Ladybug Predators
Ladybugs are primarily eaten by birds (such as swallows and crows), spiders, dragonflies, ants, and toads. Despite their defensive, distasteful “reflex blood” that protects them, they are also preyed upon by predatory insects like assassin bugs and stink bugs.
Key Predators of Ladybugs:
- Birds: Crows and swallows are considered primary predators.
- Insects: Dragonflies, ants, assassin bugs, and stink bugs consume ladybugs.
- Arachnids: Spiders are a common threat.
- Reptiles/Amphibians:Toads and lizards eat them.
Why are they not eaten more often?
Ladybugs have strong natural defenses. When threatened, they engage in reflux bleeding, which releases a bitter, foul-smelling fluid from their leg joints that deters many predators. They often play dead to escape notice.
