Lady Beetles of Hawaii Poster
Posted on Feb. 26, 2024 / Beneficial insects / Subscribe 0
By: Dana Anne Yee, FASLA
Research entomologist Dr. Louis Hesler from the USDA-ARS North Central Agricultural Research Laboratory in Brookings, South Dakota was instrumental in the creation of this scientific and educational Lady Beetles of Hawai'i Poster.
One of the pleasures that have developed through the formation and working on our 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation is the meeting of passionate, talented, kind, giving, and dedicated scientist, that through our working together, have become life-long friends. We include Dr. Louis Hesler highly on this long list. His dedication to his entomological work on Lady Beetles of Hawaii has led to this beautiful poster. The State of Hawai'i Department of Agriculture was given posters to distribute to government agencies. Our Dana Anne Yee Foundation has had the pleasure of sharing 100 posters with the State of Hawaii Department of Education schools. We also have been distributing posters to many private and charter schools and libraries around the main Hawaiian Islands. (Our foundation work, through grants with the Atherton Family Foundation, takes us to the neighbor islands and we have posters in hand to distribute).
It is so rewarding to see how happy the keiki are to receive a Lady Beetles of Hawaii poster for their school. One student exclaimed, "What are the dots?", and I said, "the dots are the actual size of the Lady Beetle with a little scale ruler next to it". When another keiki saw the poster, he pointed at a Lady Beetle and exclaimed, "I have seen that one"!
Figure 1. Keiki at the Lana'i Airport with their new Lady Beetles of Hawaii Poster, October 2023.
Dr. Louis Hesler explained on the poster that, "Lady beetles are mainly beneficial insects (natural enemies) that prey upon a wide range of pests such as aphids, scale insects, mealybugs, and whiteflies in crop fields, orchards, gardens, urban landscapes, and greenhouses. All lady beetles in Hawaii are predators of insects and mites, except one species, Psyllobora vigintimaculata, which feeds on fungi. None of the lady beetles are known to be native to Hawaii. As you see on this poster, the lady beetles of Hawaii are diverse, with a variety of color patterns, shapes, and sizes".
Figure 2. Lady Beetles of Hawaii poster.
Thank you, Dr. Louis Heslter, the keiki and the people of Hawaii have been learning and enjoying the poster. Thank you to the authors of the poster: Dr. Louis Hesler, Eric Beckendorf, Muhammad Ahmed, William D. Perreira, Janis Matsunaga, Terry Molengraaf, and Dana Anne Yee.
If your school does not have a Lady Beetles of Hawaii poster and you would like to have one, please contact me and I will get a poster to you for your school. Who knows we may encourage and inspire more students to study nature and become scientists and entomologists with this beautiful educational poster.
©2024 Dana Anne Yee, FASLA, LEED AP, ISA Certified Arborist, RA, MOCA, City Planner, UH Master Gardener Emeritus, Mayor's Arborist Advisory Committee, ASLA Hawaii Chapter Trustee from the firm of Dana Anne Yee, Landscape Architect, LLC.
Dana has been a presence in the Landscape Architectural profession and has a long-standing pattern of service to her profession and the community, serving as President of ASLA Hawai‘i. Dana was honored as a Fellow with the American Society of Landscape Architects in 2012. Dana has served as President and is currently an Advisor for the Friends of Honolulu Botanical Gardens, Vice-President for Scenic, Hawai‘i, Inc., Commissioner for the Mayor’s Office of the Culture and the Arts, and she currently serves on the Mayor’s Arborist Advisory Committee. She also currently represents the ASLA Hawai`i Chapter as their Trustee. The Dana Anne Yee Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. The board of directors and members will continue in their commitment to serve and protect Hawai’i’s delicate ecosystem and natural environment in their pursuit to help preserve Hawai‘i’s beauty and to keep our Hawai‘i green.
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