DEAR SUN SPOTS: What is the difference between a ladybug and a Halloween bug?

Every summer when it gets real warm, these red bugs with spots on them come into our home. This bug can really sting, and they will drop into your food if you don’t watch out.

Will sticky fly paper catch them? I have had these bugs sting me plenty of times. Thank you. — No Name, Chesterville

ANSWER: According to Google searches, Halloween bugs are an Asian variety of ladybug brought to the United States for pest control. 

Wikipedia says native ladybugs’ mouths are too small to bite, but that the Asian varieties can bite. The bite is not poisonous just annoying.

All of these bugs do good things, like eating aphids. But anything in numbers can be annoying. Sticky paper should work, as will any commercial pesticide.

Sun Spots encourages readers not to use Sevin. It is highly toxic to birds and butterflies. A better choice is pesticides that use pyrethrin, which is plant-based and won’t harm our feathered friends.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: I recently purchased a lawnmower rated at 190 ccs and a snowblower rated at 250 ccs. What would the equivalent be in horsepower? — No Name, Lewiston

ANSWER: All the website Sun Spots found said that there is no direct correlation between them, so conversion is difficult.

At ehow.com it says that “horsepower is a measure of power output, and cubic centimeters is a measure of volume (size), so there is no formula for the direct conversion of cc to horsepower. Some very efficient small engines can produce almost 1 horsepower per cc of volume, and some huge diesel ship engines produce only 1 hp for every 234 cc of volume.

Ehow says that most nonracing automobile engines have a cc-to-hp ratio in a range of 13 to 25:1, which means that some engines can produce 100 hp at just 1,300 cc, but others require up to 2,500 cc to produce the same 100 hp.

Doityourself.com offers an “approximate cc to horsepower chart for small engines. This chart only gives an idea of how much horsepower can be achieved by a stock engine of that cc size. There are too many variables, such as carb size, muffler flow, timing, valve duration” to give an exact conversion without knowing the precise model of engine.

123 cc = 4 hp

179 cc = 5 hp

208 cc = 5.5 to 6 hp

277 cc = 7 to 8 hp

291 cc = 9 hp

305 cc = 9 to 10 hp

342 cc = 11 to 12 hp

357 cc = 13 hp

420 cc = 13-15 hp

A more detailed chart listing specific engines is available online at www.simetric.co.uk/si_cc2hp.htm

DEAR SUN SPOTS: You have a very helpful column. You had a request in Sun Spots not too long ago. There was a lady who was asking for yarn to knit blankets for the Androscoggin animal shelter.

Someone just donated a lot of yarn to our church thrift shop. I thought maybe she could use this yarn, but I need her telephone number printed again. — No Name, Rangeley

ANSWER: How very nice of you to think of Germaine. She will be pleased. Her phone number is 777-1593.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: A while ago a woman wrote and wanted yarn to do blankets. I would like directions to do blankets for our shelter, which just had 75 dogs added to the ones we already had.

Would the woman who wrote in call me or send me the directions? You have done so many nice things. I am glad we have such a resource as you. — Ellen, Dixfield, 645-2601, ehiscock1@yahoo.com

ANSWER: You can find Germaine Nolan of Lewiston’s number in the answer to the previous question.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: I noticed you have had many inquiries about handmade memory quilts. The women at Maine Correctional Center do a fine job making speciality memory quilts for the general public. The inmates enjoy the work and learn from the experience. For more information please contact Alex McCulloch at Maine Correctional Center in Windham at 893-7167. Thanks. — Bert Jalbert,  industries manager, bert.jalbert@maine.gov

DEAR SUN SPOTS: Recently a person from Lisbon was looking for Raggedys. I have been making Raggedys of very good quality for years. This person may contact me at 246-4716 if still interested. — Hazel Hogan, hhogan49@tds.net

This column is for you, our readers. It is for your questions and comments. There are only two rules: You must write to the column and sign your name (we won’t use it if you ask us not to). Please include your phone number. Letters will not be returned or answered by mail, and telephone calls will not be accepted. Your letters will appear as quickly as space allows. Address them to Sun Spots, P.O. Box 4400, Lewiston, ME 04243-4400. Inquiries can also be emailed to sunspots@sunjournal.com.

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