I noticed today that one of my struggling garden plants is absolutely covered in bugs. I have no idea if those two things are related (we had a massive drought), but I wanted to find out what these little dudes are, and whether they’re friend or foe. Any thoughts?

Edited to add: located in western Europe.

picture of a branch with about 10 spiky bugs on it

  • Foon ( Foon@beehaw.org ) OPEnglish
    2·
    3 years ago

    No worries, I think I sounded harsher than I intended too.

    As far as I know, ladybugs shouldn’t have a direct harmful effect on plants. But what about their nymphs (is that the word? In my language it’s Larva), could they cause a plant to suffer?

    • LallyLuckFarm ( LallyLuckFarm@beehaw.org ) English
      2·
      3 years ago

      ❤️

      But no, to my knowledge the nymphs/larva are highly aggressive predators of plant pests. If they truly are in fact ladybug larvae it’s likely that they’re a response to the pests that were attacking your already stressed plants. It may be worth keeping a lookout for aphids and mites to see if you can spot a pattern there.