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Afrikaanse Inligting
Ladybirds on Priestleya
On the Protea Atlas Project excursion to the Salmonsdam
Nature Reserve (December 1991) we observed large numbers of Ladybird Beetles on
the Silver Pea Priestleya vestita. The leaves of the Silver Pea resemble
little boats, each of which contained one to several inactive Ladybirds. Only a
few bushes contained Ladybirds, some totalling hundreds per plant. We requested
one of the atlassers present, Pippa Haarhoff of the South African Museum, to
enquire further into the matter.
She spoke to Vin Whitehead, also of the South African Museum, who did his PhD on Ladybird Beetles. It appears that they were Hippodamia variegata, one of the Black-spotted Ladybird Beetles (Order Coleoptera, Family Coccinellidae, Tribe Coccinellini), which originally came from the Mediterranean region. Like many other Ladybird Beetles, both the adults and larvae eat aphids as their primary food source. Since each larva may consume up to 25 aphids per day, their role in preventing outbreaks of aphids is indisputable. Under conditions in which aphids do not flourish (cold or very dry weather), these Ladybirds migrate up to favourable (usually warm) sites in the mountains and sit out the lean period. This is probably what we observed.
Tony Rebelo, Bellville
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