American Cockroach

They’re called water bugs or Palmetto bugs, but they’re actually American cockroaches and they’re huge.

They can fly, they run fast and will even come back to life on you after they’ve been smashed.

When we lived in Louisiana, they were a real problem especially when it rained or got cold as they’d find any tiny hole to get into your home. We actually set mouse traps for them and they worked!

They’re so large, you can hear them shuffling around in cupboards and on tile floors, even though we keep everything really spic and span.

Tonight, we just got rid of our 4th one this week that somehow found a way into our home here in Dallas.

Tough to catch, really smart and super fast, it’s not easy to pick one up to put back outside. They have been clocked at 3.4 mph – that’s equivalent to a human running 205 mpg (50 body lengths per second)!

My husband tried to corale #4 into a brown shopping bag, but it was too smart for all of that…It took a good 3-4 minutes trying to convince it to even step foot on the bag. Then, there was a mad dash to the door because it crawled out of the bag and almost up his arm!

Creepy crawlers that are so big, you can’t help but see them run across the floor or on the wall out of the corner of your eye.

Instead of being the typical roach black, they’re rusty in color! Yikes!

Here’s a photo I found of a bunch of them, except the ones we get down South are much bigger!

I guess I’m just not much of a bug person!

Scientific Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Blattaria
Family: Blattidae
Genus: Periplaneta
Species: P. americana

Conservation Status: This is not a threatened animal species. In fact, it is joked about that they’d be the only animal to survive a nuclear bomb.

American cockroaches are actually found all over the world due to global shipping and travel.

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I hope you enjoyed this Insect Information on Exotic Animal Lover! Until next time…

Live Exotically,

Kimberly Edwards

P.S. For more information on the American Cockroach, check out this really informative book:

American Cockroach Catherine Chalmers’s second Aperture monograph invites us to meditate on the pleasures and terrors of the common domestic pest, Periplaneta americana, also known as the American cockroach. In three different series of photographs, “Infestations,” “Imposters,” and “Executions,” Chalmers challenges us to reconsider how we distinguish between creepy infestation and acceptable nature. With a slight B-movie quality, the images push us to think carefully about the ways in which we determine some creatures to be lovable and others best squashed under a shoe.

Technorati Tags: water bugs, cockroaches, Texas bugs, Texas insects, Texas cockroaches, roaches, big roaches, Palmetto bugs, American cockroach

Cockroaches 5 Inches Long in Texas is a post from: Exotic Animal Lover

I love the time of year, in the summer in North America, where the cicada sing!

What? That’s what I said!!!

Most people think those cicadan noises are annoying, irritating and they complain and fuss…

…but I think it’s beautiful! It means summer is here – and to me, that’s so much better than winter being from Canada!!!

Honesty, I think the more we appreciate the world around us, the happier and more at peace we are…

Who knows…Maybe you’ll be able to easily fall asleep when you admire their song at night, instead of getting all uptight!

Next time, just imagine you’re in the middle of the Amazon Forest listening to the nightlife while you’re dozing off to sleep.

Yes, they’re bugs, but they are marvels in their own right…

Scientific Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Suborder: Auchenorrhyncha
Infraorder: Cicadomorpha
Superfamily: Cicadoidea
Family: Cicadidae

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I hope you enjoyed this Insect post on Exotic Animal Lover! Until next time…

Live Exotically,

Kimberly Edwards

P.S. For a fascinating poster of cicada as a reminder all year long, check this one out:

The Cicada 20×30 Poster The Cicada 20×30 Poster

Technorati Tags: cicada, cicada, insects, invertebrates, noise, animals, summer, cicada sound

The Cicada are Singing is a post from: Exotic Animal Lover

Wow…I just watched a show on Animal Planet this week with Jeff Corwin where he showed us a decorator crab.

I had never heard of a Decorator Crab before this week.

What they do is grab materials from their surroundings to camouflage themselves.

So, they’ll attach seaweed, algae, plants, sponges, etc to the hooks on their exoskeleton so they blend right in with their underwater environment.

Unbelievably neat.

If you had one of these decorator crabs as a pet, for example, and put a number of tiny pieces of material/swatches in the tank, they would grab them and attach them to their shell because that’s what’s in the immediate area where they live.

Awesome animals!

Scientific Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Infraorder: Brachyura
Family: Majidae
Genus: Naxia
Species: N. tumida

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I hope you enjoyed this Marine Invertebrates post on Exotic Animal Lover! Until next time…

Live Exotically,

Kimberly Edwards

P.S. Get your very own Decorator Crab as a pet – how neat is that?

Camposcia retusa “Decorator Crab”- Large The Decorator Crab makes a unique addition to the saltwater aquarium but should be placed in an aquarium with some caution. In the wild they normally use bits of sponge and soft corals to decorate themselves, but have also been seen with anything from plastic to paper on them. They are not recommended in most reef aquariums because they can rip mushrooms or polyps off the rocks use as decoration.In fish-only aquariums they make a nice addition as long as there are no fish that will look at them as food. Fish such as large wrasses, puffers, or triggers are considered predators of the decorator crab. Feed them small pieces of meaty foods, such as krill or silversides occasionally. They will also search the aquarium looking for excess food leftover from your fish.

Technorati Tags: seaweed decorator crab, decorator crab, crab, marine invertebrates, invertebrates, shellfish

Decorator Crabs Know All About Local Style is a post from: Exotic Animal Lover

I feed her 2 different staple foods, and then supplement her diet with different fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds.

Sometimes, I consider those supplements as treats, but when I really want to treat her, and give her some great nutrition while I’m at it, I give her meal worms and crickets.

I know, I know…For many of you, that sounds disgusting, but she LOVES them!

Mind you, they are not alive and you don’t have to touch them…just shake a few into the bowl!

I don’t keep Kokonut in a closed cage or aquarium, so live crickets are out of the question…they’d be chirping all over the house after they escape!  It is an open air cage with heavy gauge wire small enough that she couldn’t fit through, with a plastic bin-type bottom.

She could have been sleeping the entire day, but when I put these “treats” in her bowl, she’s out like a flash to devour them!

I prefer to get her the freeze-dried meal worms, that aren’t wet, but there are times I can’t find them anywhere either.

I haven’t seen crickets that way yet (freeze-dried), so they come in a can too.

For Kokonut, I get the smaller sized crickets, if I can, but she’s not picky…

…Just a few, and she is getting adequate protein and other nutrients she needs and absolutely loves!

Wanted to share that little tidbit with you!

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I hope you enjoy this Exotic Pet Nutrition post on Exotic Animal Lover! Until next time…

Live Exotically,

Kimberly Edwards

P.S. Here is the exact brand of meal worms I feed my hedgehog:

Exo-Terra Meal Worms – 1.2 oz. Exo Terra canned Mealworms are a convenient way to feed mealworms to reptiles. The worms have been cooked in the can to maintain nutritional value, flavor and aroma. This also softens the mealworms for easier digestion and breaks the bonds between the collagen protein to make it absorbable by reptiles. Collagen is an important fiber that aids in building bone, cartilage, skin and claw structures. Canned mealworms have the same nutritional value as live mealworms but are easier to digest. $3.99

P.P.S. …And the exact brand of crickets I feed my hedgie:

Exo-Terra Crickets – Large – 2.4 oz. Exo Terra canned Crickets are a convenient way to feed crickets to reptiles. The crickets have been cooked in the can to maintain nutritional value, flavor and aroma. This also softens the crickets for easier digestion and breaks the bonds between the collagen protein to make it absorbable by reptiles. Collagen is an important fiber that aids in building bone, cartilage, skin and claw structures. Canned crickets have the same nutritional value as live crickets but are easier to digest. $7.09

Technorati Tags: exotic pet nutrition, hedgehog food, hedgehog, meal worms, crickets, pet treats, African animals

Hedgehog Treats Galore! is a post from: Exotic Animal Lover

Yikes…How gross is that? Right?

Well, I was on a friend’s blog today, SunEGrl Loves To Shop, and she was talking about a rise of incidents in Hotels and on Cruise Ships since 2004.

I guess, it doesn’t matter if you’re staying at a 2-star hotel or a 5-star hotel, it is just as likely that you could be staying in an infested place!

Yuk! I bet you thought that Bed Bugs feed off filthy, dead skin or human waste, right? Wrong!

Oh, No!!! What attracts them then?

Well, they like exhaled carbon dioxide…And as we all know, we can’t change what we exhale. So, they like where we, humans, are!

Is that it? What do they eat then? Well, contrary to popular belief, they feed on our blood, not on waste, dead skin cells, or dirt.

Scientific Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Suborder: Heteroptera
Family: Cimicidae

Now, bed bugs are a nocturnal insect, meaning they come “out” at night, or are more active at night-time.

Do They Carry Disease?
Although bed bugs bite, they are not known to pass the 27 known pathogens that they can carry to their hosts. That’s good news!

Not so fast! They may, however, under the right circumstances, be able to pass along Hepatitis B or Chagas disease (trypanosomiasis).

How Do I Know If I’ve Been Bitten?
Well, you’ll usually get a white welt, surrounded by a raised reddened area at the site of each bite. They will each be itchy from several hours up to several days.

What Do I Do If I’ve Been Bitten?
Try not to scratch so you don’t leave yourself scars from the bite sites, plus you don’t want them to get infected!

To treat them, you may want to start on antihistamines and corticosteroids, like hydrocortisone, topically to reduce the itching and swelling.

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I hope you found this post on Insects interesting from Exotic Animal Lover! Until next time…

Live Exotically,

Kimberly Edwards

P.S. If you are a frequent traveler, you may want to invest in some Bed Bug Spray that will prevent bed bugs from sticking around! This one is all-natural and non-toxic…Check it out:

Resources: If you travel you should know this…

Technorati Tags: bed bugs, insects, bed bug bites, bed bug infestation, bed bug remedy, nocturnal animal, animals, bed bug spray

When On Vacation, Don’t Let The Bed Bugs Bite! is a post from: Exotic Animal Lover

I was in Dallas a few weeks ago, and I still have a little bump from where I was bit by a single fire ant, also called red ants, by the pool.

I am not kidding!

They call them fire ants because it burns when you are bit by them. They pack a wallop! Problem is, you usually don’t get hit by just one. You probably stepped in an ant mound without even knowing it!

They are super quick, and all swarm up your legs, or whatever body part is touching the ground, and bite you. It feels like fire all over.

When I played softball at Texas A&M, and at McNeese State University, we came across the same problems, sometimes even on the field.

Our dog, Kaptain, when he was a puppy, stepped in a fire ant while he was outside, and we happened to be watching him closely and ran over to grab him. Before we could pick him up, in about 1 second, they were all the way up his legs. We quickly brushed them off without one getting to his skin to bite him. This just goes to show how quick they are!

What to do? Stay away from them. They often make huge mounds (up to 40 cm high), if given the chance. Don’t mess with them at all! Stay away!

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There are over 280 species of fire ants worldwide.

Scientific Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Suborder: Apocrita
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Solenopsidini
Genus: Solenopsis

Typically, they feed on seeds, plants and sometimes crickets. However, they will protect their mounds from anything.

Why does it burn when you’re bit?

Most ants bite and then squirt an acid that burns, but the fire ant bites in order to get a grip to sting you with a stinger from the abdomen, that injects you with a toxin that is an alkaloid venom called Solenopsin.

Ouch!

Now this can swell into a bump that can then form a pustule, which gives you the risk of becoming infected. If they get infected, you may have a scar later.

What Can I Do After a Bite that will Help?

Aloe Vera, antihistamines and corticosteroids may help reduce the itching of the bites. However, some individuals may be very sensitive to this venom and actually need Emergency treatment due to anaphylaxis.

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I hope you found this Insect post interesting on Exotic Animal Lover! Until next time…

Live Exotically,

Kimberly Edwards

P.S. I’ve found an All-Natural Topical Ointment that says it will help with stings & things of that nature…Would be worth checking out:

Technorati Tags: fire ant, fire ants, red ants, ants, insects, ant stings, ant bites, topical ointment, stings, insect bites, bites, natural remedy

Fire Ants in Southern United States is a post from: Exotic Animal Lover

Scientific Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Bombycidae
Genus: Bombyx
Species: B. mori

I watched the movie “Silk” today with my mother, and it had me thinking about the Silkworm…

No longer able to live in the wild due to it’s extreme natural selection for domestication, silkworms make silk…The cocoons they create from their salivary glands protects them during their pupal state.

It is legend that the ancient empress Xi Ling-Shi discovered silk when one day she was drinking her tea under a tree when a cocoon fell into her cup. She fished it out and the silk started to unravel out of the cocoon. She realized that it was strong enough for textile…She taught this to her people and the Chinese vehemently kept this secret from the world.

Story has it that a Chinese monk smuggled silkworms in a hollowed stick and sold this secret to the Europeans.

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I hope you enjoy today’s installment of Exotic Animal Lover! Until next time…

Live Exotically,

Kimberly Edwards ;D

P.S. If you haven’t seen the movie “Silk“, do check it out…It has love stories and turmoil surrounding the silk trade:

Technorati Tags: silkworm, silk, insects, endangered species, domesticated animal, domesticated species, Asian animals, herbivore, Silk

What’s The Story on the Silkworm? is a post from: Exotic Animal Lover

Many of the world’s most endangered animals also hail from the Amazon…

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Amazon Rainforest Animals by Lucien Oliveira

Most of the world’s rainforests are located in Central and South America, West and Central Africa, and Southeast Asia. They are very wet areas near the equator that give true meaning to the expression “world of abundance”, an expression that reflects on the variety of rainforest animals. Brazil holds 30% of all tropical rainforests that remain on Earth, and they are represented by Amazonia.

The Amazon rainforest animals are part of a big ecosystem sustained by an incredible amount of trees and other plants. Almost every inch is covered with vegetation. Amazonia has 427 species of mammals, 1294 species of birds, 378 of reptiles, 427 amphibians, and 3,000 fish. Among the mammals we can find the jaguar, an incredibly agile animal with a powerful bite, giant otters, the pink dolphin, also called “boto” by the natives, which is one of the three species of dolphins on Earth that live on freshwater, sloths (large and slow moving animals), armadillos, the peculiar tamandua, or anteater, tapirs, which are active mostly at night, manatees – the Amazon species is exclusively vegetarian and also one of the three manatee species in the world, etc. However, the majority of mammals are rodents and bats.

Among the birds, there is the harpy eagle, a great hunter that eats practically all species of mammals found in the Amazon rainforest, even monkeys. Other examples are the toucan, a colorful bird that is the symbol of Amazonia, the hoatzin, a unique bird with a small head and a long neck, hummingbirds, which are quite small and very hyperactive, and many other colorful, pretty birds. Among the reptiles, we can find the famous boa, which has a unique way of killing their prey: they wrap around the prey suffocating it and crashing its bones in order to be able to swallow it as a whole. Crocodiles, alligators, and turtles are also present in the rainforest.

The amphibians are mainly toads, frogs, and tree frogs. For example, the dart poison frog and the giant cane toad, which has got a strong poison that is enough to kill small animals. Among the fish, there is the famous red piranha, a carnivore fish that is known for its voracious appetite, the feared electric eel, and the Pirarucu, which is one of the largest freshwater fish in the world. This amazing fish can weigh up to 150 kg.

These are the most famous rainforest animals in Amazonia, but, crawling around, there are an immense amount of insects. You can find cockroaches as big as the palm of your hand, Rhinoceros beetles and their peculiar horn, Morpho butterflies with their astonishing deep blue wings, and also termites and ants, such as the leaf-cutter ant with its massive, strong jaw. No matter where you look, you will find enchanting and interesting species. After all, that is what rainforests represent: a universe of blooming life.

Lucien Oliveira is a freelance writer with strong interest nature, wildlife and animals. You can find more about wildlife, animals and geographic national. Read more about wildlife portraits.

Article Directory: Article Dashboard

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I hope you enjoyed today’s installment of Exotic Animal Lover! Until next time…

Live Exotically,

Kimberly Edwards ;D

P.S. To learn more about the Amazonian Rain Forest, check out this informative book:

Discovering the Amazon Rain Forest Discovering the Amazon Rainforest

Technorati Tags: geographic national, wildlife portraits, endangered animals, animal endangered, rainforest animals, jaguar, harpy eagle, rhinoceros beetle, poison dart frog

Majestic Animals of the Amazonian Rainforest is a post from: Exotic Animal Lover

Are animals getting smarter? Not long ago on Utube, I watched some amazing animal videos. In these videos you could see proof of the animal using cause and effect.

In one video, a raccoon was captured in a concrete cage, outside. The top of the cage was opened, but he was enclosed on all four sides. The raccoon, with a lot of effort, was able to lean a broken tree limb, which was lying in the bottom of his cage, in one of the corners of the cage. He then used the broken limb as a ladder and climbed his way out to freedom.

In another video, there was a wild bird, (I don’t recall the species), but he was standing on a pier looking out into the water. Nearby the wild bird on the pier were some bread crumbs – instead of eating the bread crumbs, the wild bird picked up the bread and walked to the end of the pier, dropping the bread into the water. He then waited patiently, never taking his eyes off of the bread. The wild bird was quickly rewarded for his patience when a fish came to the surface to feed on the bread. With no hesitation the bird swooped down and gained his dinner of a nice, juicy fish.

This shows extraordinary ability to apply insight to problem-solving. This bird had to think his plan through, and imagine what the outcome would be. It was amazing to watch.

If you question the intelligence of animals, think back on your pets. They understand your commands, read your moods, and knows how to manipulate you to get what they want.

PBS had a ’special’ on called, “Inside the Animal Mind.” Researchers studying the behavior of Ravens noticed they have the ability to solve difficult puzzles, such as untangling a knotted string to free up a tasty treat, or figuring out how to steal fish by hauling in an angler’s untended line.

Dr. Irene Pepperburg of the University of Arizona, began systematically studying Alex and several other African Greys, parrots that are remarkable mimics, to understand avian intelligence. The study showed that Alex does more than just reproduce the sounds of human speech, but that Alex actually understands meanings. For instance, Alex can name more than forty objects and understands the concepts of “same,” and “different,” “absence,” “quantity,” and “size.” Alex has mastered tasks once thought to be beyond the capacity of all but humans, or certain non-human primates.

Researchers also agree that animals share some emotional characteristics with us; like stress. Like humans, many animals can be harried and stressed out, with sometimes serious health consequences.

In a study conducted by Stanford University, for three months each year, Robert Sapolsy travels to East Africa’s Serengeti Plain to examine the baboon. By measuring the hormones found in each baboon’s feces, Sapolsy’s team has been able to show that baboon troops are high-stress societies, with higher-ranked individuals maintaining order by intimidating lower-ranked troopmates. Sapolsy says, “Baboons and us are surprisingly similar . . . they can devote a large part of each day to making each other absolutely miserable with social stress.”

The high-stress levels also showed that it can cause serious health consequences. Stressed-out mothers, for instance, have more problems producing healthy offspring. Stress can also effect learning and memory in the animals, much like in humans.

Animals also exhibit a consciousness similar to people. Bees can create “mental maps,” images they hold in their minds that allow them to navigate around their environments by picturing themselves there.

Chimps and elephants show an awareness of death. They grieve when a family member dies. Elephants will hang around the bones of long-dead relatives – seeming to ponder the past and their own future. Are these behaviors enough to give animals membership in the consciousness club?

Researchers are actively debating over that question now. “Consciousness is one of the hardest things to define and study,” says Pete Chernika, an Austrian researcher who has studied consciousness in dolphins and other animals.

Dolphins are able to recognize themselves in a mirror. They also exhibit a keen awareness of the status and identity of other dolphins in their highly social groups. They know who their mom is, who their leaders in the pod are, and how they should behave around different individuals. Chernika says, “The more people study other animals, the more we realize how hard it is to define consciousness – and how hard it is to decide who has it, and who doesn’t.

This article has been submitted in affiliation with http://www.PetLovers.Com which is a site for Pets.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?Are-Animals-Getting-Smarter&id=410882

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I hope you enjoyed today’s installment of Exotic Animal Lover! Until next time…

Live Exotically,

Kimberly Edwards

P.S. Wanting to learn more about animal intelligence and emotion? Check out this fascinating book:

Talking Apes & Dancing Bees: Intelligence, Emotions, and Other Marvels of the Animal Kingdom

Technorati Tags: intelligence, consciousness, emotional, psyche, research, mourning, social behavior, attitude, cause, animal intelligence, animal psychology, mammals, insects, birds

Are Animals Getting Smarter? is a post from: Exotic Animal Lover

So, I was so inspired to bring you an article on them…

Scientific Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Superfamily: Cucujoidea
Family: Coccinellidae
Subfamilies:
1. Chilocorinae
2. Coccidulinae
3. Coccinellinae
4. Epilachninae
5. Scymininae
6. Sticholotidinae

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Ladybugs, Ladybugs, Come to My Garden
By Lesley Dietschy

Ladybugs, also called lady beetles or ladybirds, can be a gardener’s best friend. The ladybug’s bright coloring brings welcomed cheer to the garden, as well as helping with pest control. Since medieval times, ladybugs have been valued by farmers all over the world. Many believe that the ladybug was divinely sent to free crops of insect pests. In fact, that is how the ladybug got its name. People dedicated the bug to the Virgin Mary and therefore called it “The Bug of our Lady”, which was eventually shortened to the present name “ladybug”.

Adult ladybugs are usually oval or domed shaped and have red wings, yellow wings or shades and variations of these colors. The number of black spots can range from no spots to 15 spots and they are typically about one quarter inch in size or smaller.

The length of the life cycle of a ladybug varies depending upon temperature, humidity, and food supply. Usually the life cycle from egg to adult is about three to four weeks, and up to six weeks during the cooler spring months. During the spring the adult female ladybug can lay up to three hundred eggs in an aphid colony. The eggs normally hatch in two to five days. The newly hatched larvae feed on aphids for up to three weeks and then enter the pupae stage. About one week later, the adult ladybug emerges. There can be as many as six generations of ladybugs hatched in a year.

The ladybug enjoys popularity around the world. These pretty insects have long been considered a symbol of good luck and fortune because of their ability to eat an enormous amount of aphids. One ladybug can eat as many as 50 to 60 aphids per day. Aphids (also called plant lice) are herbivores and are one of the worst groups of pests on plants. They feed in colonies and damage plants by sucking the juice out of the leaves, stems, or roots. While aphids feed, they damage plant tissue creating a loss of plant fluids and the photosynthetic tissue needed to produce energy for plant growth. Some plants will show no adverse response to aphids, while others react with twisted, curled or swollen leaves or stems. Aphids also transmit many plant diseases from one plant to another.

Apart from aphids, ladybugs eat a variety of other insects and larvae including white flies, mealy bugs, spider mites, and other types of soft-bodied insects. They also require a source of pollen for food and for that reason are attracted to certain types of plants. Their preferred plants have umbrella shaped flowers such as dill, fennel, angelica, tansy, caraway, cilantro, yarrow, and wild carrot. Other plants that attract ladybugs include cosmos (especially the white ones), dandelions, coreopsis, and scented geraniums.

If your garden does not have adequate space to plant ladybug attracting plants, you can purchase ladybugs from numerous websites on the internet and most nurseries. Before releasing them into your garden, here are a few tips to help ensure that the ladybugs stay where you want them:

1. Release ladybugs near infested plants after sun down or before sun up. They navigate by the sun and are most likely to stay put in the evenings and early mornings.

2. Water the area where you are going to release the ladybugs. They will appreciate the drink and the moisture on the leaves will help the ladybugs to “stick” on the plants. If released in a dry garden, the ladybugs will most likely fly off in search of a drink instead of sticking around to eat.

3. In the warmer months, chill the ladybugs in the refrigerator before releasing them. This will not harm the ladybugs and they tend to crawl more in colder temperatures rather than fly away.

Another way to attract ladybugs to your garden is to place several ladybug habitation boxes around your garden. Fill the boxes with organic material such as peat or compost to encourage ladybugs to roost and lay eggs inside the box. In addition, the habitation box also provides protection for the ladybugs in the winter months.

To further promote ladybug populations, consider cutting back on spraying insecticides in your garden. Ladybugs are sensitive to most synthetic insecticides and if the majority of their food source is gone, they will not lay their eggs and therefore will not continue to populate.

Here are some interesting ladybug facts:

- There are nearly 5,000 different kinds of ladybugs worldwide and 400 which live in North America.

- A female ladybug will lay more than 1000 eggs in her lifetime.

- A ladybug beats its wings 85 times a second when it flies.

- A gallon jar will hold from 72,000 to 80,000 ladybugs.

- Ladybugs make a chemical that smells and tastes terrible so that birds and other predators won’t eat them.

- The spots on a ladybug fade as the ladybug gets older.

- Ladybugs won’t fly if the temperature is below 55 degrees Fahrenheit.

- The ladybug is the official state insect of Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Tennessee.

As you can see, the ladybug is one of the most effective and economically important insects to have in your garden. In some cultures, seeing ladybugs in gardens indicates a bountiful harvest, an indication of good weather or a good luck omen. Create an alluring environment for ladybugs and they are sure to provide charm and pest control in your garden for years to come.

Lesley Dietschy is a writer, jewelry designer, and the founder of a network of popular websites including http://www.HomeDecorExchange.com and http://www.HomeGardenExchange.com Both of these websites feature valuable information and resources to assist you in decorating your home and garden.

For beautiful beaded bracelets, please visit:
http://www.BeadedBraceletBoutique.com

Article Source:

http://EzineArticles.com/?Ladybugs,-Ladybugs,-Come-to-My-Garden&id=28530

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I hope you enjoyed today’s installment of Exotic Animal Lover! Until next time…

Live Exotically,

Kimberly Edwards

P.S. This shirt is so cute! I want one!!! Give this to the ladybug lover in your life:

Cute Ladybug Jr. Raglan Very cute and simple ladybug design. Excellent for any lady bug lover! This design is offered on a variety of items including stickers, journals, shirts and more!

Technorati Tags: ladybugs, garden, pest control, aphid control, insect, invertebrate, ladybird, lady beetle, animal tips

Kisses, Hugs & Ladybugs is a post from: Exotic Animal Lover