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The Inspiring Power of the Ladybird Beetle!
Discover the Strength and Resilience of Nature's Tiny Wonder!
The bug that saved California's citrus industry:
During the 1870s, determined farmers were cultivating the first seedless navel and sweet Valencia oranges in the abundant sunshine of California's citrus groves.
Fruit exports to the east generated $20 million annually, a tenfold increase in the last decade. The public compared it to a second gold rush!
Suddenly, a fuzzy white bug, the Icerya, emerged, sparking an environmental crisis!
It was a mystery how the cottony cushion scale, a destructive tree pest indigenous to Australia, was introduced to citrus trees worldwide.
Attempts to destroy pests:
No matter what they tried, they washed the trees with whale oil, used blistering steam, and cut off and burned infected limbs of the trees; even gunpowder blasts did not affect the waxy, mold-riddled scales excreted by Icerya.
Citrus farmers uprooted and incinerated infected orange trees. Property values plummeted by 1888.
The Aussie Entomologist and Ladybird beetle:
In October 1888, the Australian entomologist Fraser Crawford discovered a species of ladybug, the Novius Cardinalis, eating a large Icerya! That changed everything!
This unique species of ladybugs was pitted against an invading horde of pests in a crucial battle for the future of citrus agriculture in California and worldwide.
The group of Novius voraciously attacked and eliminated the Icerya insects on orange trees.
From October 1888 to January 1889, the exceptional Novius ladybugs were carefully shipped in freezers to California, where they demonstrated a unique appetite for Icerya, unlike any other insect!
