View Full Version : Ladybirds
Keith_Beef
05-10-2004, 13:35
Not sure if this is the right spot for discussing introduced species, but there is an article on the BBC news website about a foreign ladybird being captured outside an Essex pub.
No jokes.
And these are being sold on mainland Europe for pest control!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/essex/3715120.stm
Keith.
Squidders
05-10-2004, 13:39
Ladybirds are one of the most vile tasting creatures on the planet...
jamesdevine
05-10-2004, 13:56
I am tring hard not to Ask but? :yikes:
Squidders
05-10-2004, 14:36
I managed to catch one with my mouth whilst riding a pushbike down a big hill... Although I did eat the ladybird, I still consider it only a draw and not a victory... utterly foul! :yuck:
i think the bright colour and destinctive(sp) marking mean "DONT EAT ME" what do you reckon Squidders? :wink: :rolmao:
Tantalus
05-10-2004, 16:11
And these are being sold on mainland Europe for pest control!
Makes me wonder how they are being marketed
Call me a cynic if you will but I can almost imagine the advertising
"Environmentally Friendly Pest Control"
Isn't that the kind of excuse used to introduce myxamatosis?
:cry: :cry: :cry: Tant
Squidders
05-10-2004, 16:21
tomtom yes - coincidence or not but McDonalds use the same colours give or take... good ol' warning colours.
tantalus never underestimate the ignorance of some people, it's got legs, how bad can it be? aparently, the year I was born (1976) there were huge swarms of ladybirds biting people up and down the country due to ideal weather.
Either way these new asain ones where a sign saying I'll eat you - appearantly they bite!
Tantalus
05-10-2004, 16:30
yeah i remember dire stories about ladybug plagues as a kid
as far as i remember they followed closely on the heels of aphid plagues (surprise surprise)
ladybugs bleed formic acid at the knees when they are distressed (we were told at the time) which is what makes it feel like a bite
formic acid is the stuff in ant and nettle stings
Tant
Tantalus
05-10-2004, 16:32
not to go off topic but this bbc link also from today seems particularly relevant
:cry: :cry:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3667300.stm
Tant