More Visitors Making Their Home at the Orchard Training Garden: Ladybirds Overwintering in the House Awnings

We had another Garden Club meeting this week. When we stopped for our break, we opened the awnings and discovered lots of ladybirds hiding there. The ladybirds were overwintering in the house awnings. These visitors were much more welcome than the spider we found last week, which caused quite a bit of screaming!

Naturally, we wondered why so many ladybirds had chosen the awnings for the winter. While we ate our snacks, we did some research and found out some interesting facts.

Ladybirds are cold-blooded insects, which means they cannot control their body temperature like mammals can. In winter, it becomes harder for them to survive because it is cold and their main food, aphids, is harder to find.

To get through the winter, ladybirds go into a resting state called diapause, which is like hibernation. During this time, their bodies slow down so they can save energy until the weather becomes warmer in spring.

To survive the winter, ladybirds need places that are:

• Dry

• Sheltered from wind and rain

• A little warmer than the outside air

• Safe from predators

  
  

In nature, ladybirds might hide under tree bark, piles of leaves, or in cracks between rocks. But in towns and gardens, buildings can provide similar safe spaces.

Our house awnings turned out to be a perfect place for them. The awnings protect the ladybirds from the weather and give them a safe place to hide. The folds and small gaps in the awning also create narrow spaces where they can gather.

Buildings also hold warmth from the sun during the day and slowly release it later. This creates a slightly warmer area, which helps the ladybirds stay safe without freezing. The awnings are also higher up, which means birds and other predators cannot reach them easily.

Ladybirds often gather in groups because they release special chemical signals that attract other ladybirds to the same place. Staying close together helps them:

• Keep warm

• Lose less moisture

• Survive the long winter

That is why large groups can appear quite quickly once a good hiding place is found.

Luckily, ladybirds resting in awnings are harmless and only staying for the winter. They won’t do any damage to the building or fabrics.

In fact, ladybirds are very helpful for us homeschool gardeners. Both adult ladybirds and their young eat aphids and other plant pests. One ladybird can eat hundreds of aphids in its lifetime, helping plants stay healthy without using chemicals.

So, by letting ladybirds safely spend the winter around the garden, we are also helping our homeschool garden stay healthy in the future.