![Live Ladybug Delivery](https://beckmen.imgix.net/blog/Live-Ladybug-Delivery.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&domain=beckmen.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1250&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=2000&s=d7f8292aaa0bb5d56c88fc1b0f98cd7c 2000w, https://beckmen.imgix.net/blog/Live-Ladybug-Delivery.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&domain=beckmen.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1125&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=1800&s=35c9fc636274b21591038ed260e90640 1800w, https://beckmen.imgix.net/blog/Live-Ladybug-Delivery.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&domain=beckmen.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1000&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=1600&s=7f83591e8f1bb5bc732a1e5887a65a6e 1600w, https://beckmen.imgix.net/blog/Live-Ladybug-Delivery.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&domain=beckmen.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=812&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=1300&s=784f463b7675917763fb892add64b5f5 1300w, https://beckmen.imgix.net/blog/Live-Ladybug-Delivery.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&domain=beckmen.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=687&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=1100&s=99746c56bf0c019095350311d759b690 1100w, https://beckmen.imgix.net/blog/Live-Ladybug-Delivery.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&domain=beckmen.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=562&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=900&s=4b47037a6a0cfa023766a893a69cf0e1 900w, https://beckmen.imgix.net/blog/Live-Ladybug-Delivery.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&domain=beckmen.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=500&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=800&s=5d74ed4546cd1042af0c013c83f0699b 800w, https://beckmen.imgix.net/blog/Live-Ladybug-Delivery.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&domain=beckmen.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=375&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=600&s=1cd97aa9dc3434edc5386e26057280ab 600w, https://beckmen.imgix.net/blog/Live-Ladybug-Delivery.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&domain=beckmen.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=250&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=400&s=96666c90fa0a05f4375b113f98ef342f 400w)
Release of the Ladybugs
Posted: Jun 9, 2015
At 8:00pm last Thursday night, my wife and I wandered through Purisima Mountain Vineyard, delivering over 210,000 ladybugs to our grapevines. It was a very cool experience, hand delivering these “lucky” bugs to specific vines; it took us about two hours to deliver them all to our vines.
While I do hope they impart luck into this vintage, I reintroduced a larger population of ladybugs in order to spot treat the increasing leafhopper population in select parts of the vineyard, proactively preventing the damage they would cause to my vines. Leafhoppers are an okay insect to have on the farm but only in moderation, just like anything; they feed off sap in the grape leaves, damaging the leaves in the process. So if we have too many of these insects, our leaves will become too damaged. At a certain life stage leafhoppers are unable to fly and will stay on the back of leaves focusing on the delicious food right in front of them. I’ve kept a close eye on them over the past few weeks waiting for the hatch of the next generation, and I felt like last Thursday was the opportune moment to release the ladybugs.
![Beckmen adding ladybugs](https://beckmen.imgix.net/blog/beckmen-adding-ladybugs.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&domain=beckmen.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=562&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=900&s=2e539f652dd6c681696a55413b54dc32 900w, https://beckmen.imgix.net/blog/beckmen-adding-ladybugs.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&domain=beckmen.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=500&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=800&s=dfbf202b6c0f03fe87228fc71c24a13f 800w, https://beckmen.imgix.net/blog/beckmen-adding-ladybugs.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&domain=beckmen.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=375&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=600&s=dd2653961d98d6515c2b6f56ddba0969 600w, https://beckmen.imgix.net/blog/beckmen-adding-ladybugs.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&domain=beckmen.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=250&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=400&s=4ecd5d340bd3c7e979b709713dc98e38 400w)
Ladybugs are selective predator bugs and usually only like to eat aphids. However, when the leafhoppers are newly born nymphs, they become a welcome treat for the ladybugs. I could have used an organic spray to manage the increasing leafhopper population, but why not use ladybugs? Just because a spray is organic, doesn’t mean it’s always safe to use, or is the best solution. At the end of the day, the spray is still poison, but in a natural form (I could’ve used a spray derived from chrysanthemums).
Reintroducing ladybugs is a form of integrated pest management – essentially managing pest damage in the most common-sense way possible. Ladybugs are beneficial to our environment and they help decrease another pest issue, so it’s a win-win decision for me. I try to be proactive with my farming methods, thinking of solutions to problems that may not yet even exist. Integrating good bugs into our ecosystem to prevent damage down the road is a prime example of how we farm proactively.
![Beckmen ladybug delivery](https://beckmen.imgix.net/blog/beckmen-ladybug-delivery.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&domain=beckmen.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=375&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=600&s=53a260948e2b91659bc7ccd0b7b7bdad 600w, https://beckmen.imgix.net/blog/beckmen-ladybug-delivery.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&domain=beckmen.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=250&ixlib=php-3.3.0&w=400&s=4ac7dff66eff41c634bd7e4e40687d9a 400w)