Ladybugs take up the fight

Nature gives us such generous gifts – e.g. delicious sweet fruit. But also with many small, useful insects that take up the fight against gluttonous pests and thus protect our dear fruits.

Therefore, at our farms in South Africa, we use natural predators – also known as beneficial insects – when we have a pest infestation. In the photos, you can see the larvae of the extremely useful cardinal ladybug (Rodolia cardinalis). The cardinal ladybug is related to our native ladybug and grows to about 2.5 to 4 millimetres in size. It feels most at home on citrus plantations.

There, it is responsible for controlling pests such as the Australian cottony cushion scales, other scale insects and aphids, which suck the sap of the plants. And even the larvae of the cardinal ladybug have a healthy appetite for the cottony scales. Which is great! This way we can do without chemical pesticides and you can eat natural fruits. That’s why we take care of our little helpers and are especially good to them. By the way, the Rodolia cardinalis has been used against scale insects for more than 100 years – it is, so to speak, a truly tried and tested pest exterminator.