Ladybugs, Ladybirds, or Lady beetles are familiar to all in art and in reality. These little munchers of aphids and other garden insects are common in many habitats. If the supply of soft-bodied insects on your cabbages dwindles, the adults will fly off to other plants in your garden and elsewhere. Because lady beetles have been collected and sold for as biological control agents, species have been moved from place to place and even between continents. This episode covers such topics and also addresses efforts to document rare native species and even farm them for reintroduction into their former habitats.

Episode art is from iNaturalist contributor Bill Siebert. Bill is a retired biology teacher equipped with a 600mm and macro lens. For more information about his photograph, get a free iNaturalist account and look here: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/171724937