What fucking monster kills a god damn ladybug!
You are supposed to get giddy, feel blessed and carefully take it outside and VERY GENTLY place it on a flower. That’s the damn rule!
The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Doesn’t everybody just let them outside?
What in the…
Seriously, what psycho squishes a ladybug?
My parents have a cabin in the countryside near fields and at some periods of the years there’s hundreds of them inside, crawling on the windows. You end up squishing some involuntarily, just walking around.
They vacuum them outside but it’s kind of useless as they just come back.
EDIT: The windows facing the sun just look like this
They get everywhere. Recently we opened some walls and there’s just ladybug carcasses everywhere. Removing a wall trim? Ladybugs behind it. Changing a light fixture? Dead ladybugs everywhere in the ceiling. Most of the cabin must be constituted of ladybug cadavers.
Most of the cabin must be constituted of ladybug cadavers.
Free insulation is nice, I guess?
I’d wager this photo was taken in the fall and these are probably Asian ladybugs. Ladybugs generally will aggregate in an outside location suitable for overwintering (e.g: under tree bark). Asian ladybugs specifically have a preference for human structures and as you’ve seen, get into everything. Sometimes they dehydrate and die, leaving you little memories of their past lives.
Fun fact. The ladybugs you buy at the garden store in the spring are often collected during this diapause period.
“Ladybugs use a defensive behaviour called ‘reflex bleeding’ when threatened,” explained Sophie Thorogood, technical training manager at Pest-Stop. “This releases a yellowish body fluid, known as hemolymph, which smells unpleasant and can stain fabrics. If you squash them, this fluid will be released.”
The ladybug expresses the hemolymph through the joints in its legs, as a deterrent to any predators. It works thanks to the isopropyl methoxy pyrazine inside the fluid, which gives it its distinctive odor and taste. The smell alone would be a good reason not to squash a ladybug; the bad odor can linger even after wiping away the liquid.
But hemolymph can also cause damage once released. This is because it is also made up of alkaloids that are toxic to many ladybug predators — and can even cause numbness or irritation to some humans.
“It’s better to move them outside and let them be on their way, rather than squish them"
For those who aren’t sensitive or allergic to hemolymph, there are still other negative consequences of squishing ladybugs. The fluid can stain both fabrics and surfaces with its yellow or orange color, causing long-term discoloration that can be hard to remove. Not only is this unsightly, but no one needs reminding of the cute ladybug they killed.
You won’t find ladybugs indoors. You will find Asian lady beetles, however.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmonia_axyridis
These are not native in North America, and group up in the winter looking for shelter. Native ladybugs stay outdoors.
It smells bad and will stain your shit. Don’t let your dog eat them either, she will projectile vomit everywhere.
