Lady bugs?

skully23

New Member
Its been winter and lately the lady bugs have been growing in my house. I just caught 12 or more. They all are orangish with black spots and few going red.

I was wondering if you can feed these to a veiled chameleon, can you?
If not can they be fed to a baby painted turtle?

If not for both then they going down the toilet with the rest of their fellow friends.:D
 
Ladybugs are very bitter if not actually toxic. The bright color is a warning to predators.

Why flush them? Can't you release them outdoors? They are considered a beneficial insect.
 
Ladybugs are very bitter if not actually toxic. The bright color is a warning to predators.

Why flush them? Can't you release them outdoors? They are considered a beneficial insect.

Why not flush them? Their really annoying. All over my room, under my chameleon heat lights..and not to mention millions more in this house. Also there is snow outside..even better idea!!!:D
 
I'm with you all the way. Those orangish ones aren't from this area. They were released somewhere else into fields and all of them tend to migrate up here. They swarm all over the place in the late fall. My parent's old house would be full of them. I have been working outside before and had to be constantly knocking them off of me. They stink also! Since they have started swarming I have seen very few normal red ladybugs.
 
good to see someone else from indiana with the same thing i was wondering.iwouldnt ever feed these to my cham but i did worry about him eating them i hate lady bugs they stink and they bite!
 
Ladybugs are very bitter if not actually toxic. The bright color is a warning to predators.

Why flush them? Can't you release them outdoors? They are considered a beneficial insect.

This is true they are bitter tasting to their natural predators and can be toxic. I saw them being sold in Whole Foods in tubs so I did some research on them thinking they might be a good feeder. Also ladybugs eat other insects, mites, aphids, thrip etc so that is not a great gutload for your cham even if he could eat them.
 
This is true they are bitter tasting to their natural predators and can be toxic. I saw them being sold in Whole Foods in tubs so I did some research on them thinking they might be a good feeder. Also ladybugs eat other insects, mites, aphids, thrip etc so that is not a great gutload for your cham even if he could eat them.
Yah sounds like they're gut loaded with potential parasites. When my guy was in the bin I was constantly worried about him munching one down.
 
I have ready multiple posts by knowledgable people who say lady beetles are toxic for chameleons. I believe them.

Give them to a local nursary or plant enthusiast. They are indeed a very beneficial insect.
 
These arent actually ladybugs from what i understand... the orange ones are actually Asian beetles and they are an introduced species

i believe the story goes something like a farmer (probably in iowa or nebraska) bought these online thinking they were ladybugs to help maintain some pest level in his crops and released them... since they are not native they have very few natural predators and thus flourish and bug the hell out of everyone who lives in the Midwest... not only that but they have little beneficial value unlike regular ladybugs

they have also pushed regular ladybugs out of the area so its a rare find when you do see aa normal ladybug.

so next time you see one don't feel afraid to smush it with all of your might... they are invaders and annoying as hell...
 
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I'd avoid Family Coccinellidae, entirely to be on the safe side.

Coccinellids are often brightly colored to ward away potential predators. This phenomenon is called aposematism and works because predators learn by experience to associate certain prey phenotypes with a bad taste (or worse). Mechanical stimulation (such as by predator attack) causes "reflex bleeding" in both larval and adult ladybird beetles, in which an alkaloid toxin is exuded through the joints of the exoskeleton, deterring feeding. Ladybugs, as well as other Coccinellids are known to spray a toxin that is venomous to certain mammals and other insects when threatened.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coccinellidae
 
ug, i hate those things! i miss the bright red ladybugs of my youth before those stupid poser bugs took over. i'm gonna call them men-in-drag bugs because they're so fake!
 
I've even seen a few of them here in NY last summer.
I hope next year it doesn't get worse because they stink and bite.

Harry
 
I see mostly red and black ones. But I've seen a few orange, a few yellow. Both seem to behave the same as the red and black, eat the same things, no biting no stink. Must be different from the ones you are seeing. Hope they dont migrate here!
 
Hope they dont migrate here!

LOl, 'Ladybugs on a plane' dosen't quite have the same ring of horror to it ! :D

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