LADYBIRD LARVAE KILL GREENFLY - AND SO DO I

I know, I know, it sounds disgusting but if you are a gardener like me who doesn't balk at picking up worms and other garden critters, then squeezing a few squishy aphids won't phase you.  It's a rainy day and after being faced with invasion by Vine Weevils, and snails, and slugs, then I thought I would just check the developing buds on the climbing roses New Dawn and Wild Eve.  They are infested with greenfly.  Or they were until I came along and came them a gentle but not-loving squeeze: result is dead aphids and happy rosebuds.  The rain will wash away the bodies and the buds can continue to develop without harm.  I'll check the roses regularly now. 

Ladybird larva eating aphids in my garden, June 2019

If you feel downhearted about your aphid problems, do be aware that even the Royal Horticultural Society roses get infested too.  Luckily for the RHS, their greenfly are being wolfed down by ever helpful ladybird larvae.  You can see one quite clearly in the belowimage: grey with orange spots. 

Ladybird (Coccinellidae) larvae eating greenfly at RHS gardens, Harlow Carr - May 2019

Note, that I did check my infested roses to see if there were any signs of aphid predators before I killed the aphids myself.  If you see ladybirds in your garden, make sure they come to no harm with pesticides and such.  They, like hoverflies, bees, frogs and toads, are a gardener's friend.







Here is a YouTube clip of a ladybird larva eating a greenfly (video available at time of posting, 26 May 2019)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-lUPeBAPoA