Spring Break
Students 'bug' out as Asian lady beetles invade residence halls
Amelia Carpenter
Issue date: 11/3/09 Section: Campus
Sometimes referred to as the Halloween lady beetle because of their orange coloring and coinciding occurrence in late October, the multicolored Asian lady beetle population has been a nuisance to Miami University students in past years - including this one.
Sophomore Maribeth Ramella had problems as a first-year with lady beetles but saw a significant increase this year.
"They infested my room, (and) they were on my bed," Ramella said. "They actually all left, and we don't know where they went."
Ramella said they entered through cracks between her windows.
"We had a lot more this year, we had a ton, probably like 50," Ramella said.
Junior Christina Miller recalls having the lady beetles in her dorm during her first year.
"We had a big problem with the ladybugs right around this time," Miller said. "We had no idea what was going on - we had never experienced anything like that before."
Miller said her resident assistant told them to turn off their air conditioning and they eventually just went away. Miller had no problems last year living in an apartment.
Ladybug is the more universal term for this insect, but either way these beetles' abundance (or absence) is unpredictable each year, according to Joe Boggs, horticulture specialist for the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) and extension agent for Hamilton County.
"To be honest I don't know if we have all the answers to come up with a predictive model to be able to say this is going to be a bad year or not a bad year," Boggs said. "Some years (the beetles) are virtually not a problem, other years they are."
The United States Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service released lady beetles in several states including Ohio to control tree-destroying pests. They released approximately 1,800 lady beetles in Cuyahoga and Lake Counties during June 1979 and July 1980, according to the OSU extension fact sheet on multicolored Asian lady beetles. Now, lady beetles are well established in the U.S.
Sophomore Maribeth Ramella had problems as a first-year with lady beetles but saw a significant increase this year.
"They infested my room, (and) they were on my bed," Ramella said. "They actually all left, and we don't know where they went."
Ramella said they entered through cracks between her windows.
"We had a lot more this year, we had a ton, probably like 50," Ramella said.
Junior Christina Miller recalls having the lady beetles in her dorm during her first year.
"We had a big problem with the ladybugs right around this time," Miller said. "We had no idea what was going on - we had never experienced anything like that before."
Miller said her resident assistant told them to turn off their air conditioning and they eventually just went away. Miller had no problems last year living in an apartment.
Ladybug is the more universal term for this insect, but either way these beetles' abundance (or absence) is unpredictable each year, according to Joe Boggs, horticulture specialist for the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) and extension agent for Hamilton County.
"To be honest I don't know if we have all the answers to come up with a predictive model to be able to say this is going to be a bad year or not a bad year," Boggs said. "Some years (the beetles) are virtually not a problem, other years they are."
The United States Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service released lady beetles in several states including Ohio to control tree-destroying pests. They released approximately 1,800 lady beetles in Cuyahoga and Lake Counties during June 1979 and July 1980, according to the OSU extension fact sheet on multicolored Asian lady beetles. Now, lady beetles are well established in the U.S.
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