A Ladybug's Favorite Flowers

Hunting on Flowers

• Ladybugs are carnivorous insects, living primarily on aphids, scales and mites. Flowers that are primary in the diet of the average aphid are also helpful in attracting ladybugs -- they will become prime hunting grounds. Aphids like roses, oleander, milkweed, hibiscus and nearly all annual plants. These types of flowering plants will give the ladybugs somewhere to lay their eggs to ensure a food supply for their larvae.

Primary Nectar Flowers

• If you are attempting to attract native varieties of ladybugs instead of importing them, certain flowers are more frequently used as a primary source of nectar for ladybugs. These include plants with umbrella-shaped flowers, such as alyssum, yarrow, and bee balm. Other plants that ladybugs favor are cosmos, coreopsis and scented geraniums. The advantage to these types of flowers is obvious, if you're a ladybug. Since ladybugs have very short feeding apparatus, the extremely shallow flowers make feeding much easier. The size of these flowers makes them excellent landing pads.

Alternative Nectar Plants

• Certain kinds of plants provide ladybugs with a backup reserve of nectar that is separate from their flowering parts. These flowering plants produce a secretion that is full of nutrients. Scientists have studied this secretion and found that it exists solely to attract beneficial insects. Over 2,000 species of flowering plants produce this predator attractant, including passionflower, morning glory, hibiscus, impatiens and vetch.

Mildew-Feeding Ladybugs

• An uncommon group of ladybugs feed on certain mildews that grow on plants and little else. The ladybug known as Psylloborini casey is being investigated as a new weapon in the war on powdery mildew. Those flowers most often suffering from powdery mildew, and thus the most attractive to P. casey, are columbine, dahlia, delphinum, honeysuckle, lilac, phlox, rose and zinnia.