In the Land of Ladybugs

Blog Category
Discover Nature Notes
Published Display Date
Aug 17, 2015
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They go by names such as the lady beetle or ladybird beetle, but you may be most familiar with one.

There are more kinds of beetles than any other insect in the world. Of all the beetles, the most well-known may be the ladybug.

All beetles have tough, armor-like forewings that cover their sheer hind wings used for flying. At rest, the forewings fold down in a neat line along the middle of the insect’s back. In ladybugs, the forewings are shiny and bright: usually red, orange or yellow with black markings, or black with red and yellow markings. A nutshell description is that ladybugs are small, round and often spotted.

Both adults and young are predators, mostly of aphids. Their voracious appetite earned them–including the males–their genteel, familiar name. In the Middle Ages, these beetles rid grapevines of insect pests. In appreciation of their work, the wine growers dedicated the insects to the Virgin Mary, called “Our Lady” by the Catholic Church.

Ladybugs are common on plants in a healthy garden. They often overwinter under fallen leaves or bark and may be discovered occasionally in large resting swarms.

The Life of a Ladybug

  • Ladybugs are brightly colored, often shiny, typically red, orange, or yellow, and usually spotted, often with black. Several are mostly black.
  • Like many insects, a ladybug hatches from an egg, goes through immature stages as it eats and grows, then becomes a winged, sexually mature adult.
  • Ladybugs have four juvenile stages, each of which can look quite different from the others. Then they enter an inactive, shell-covered pupal stage, while they undergo metamorphosis, and later emerge as adults.
  • Most ladybugs (especially during their juvenile, growing stages) prey on other insects, especially aphids and scale insects, which suck plant juices and can injure crops.
  • They also eat the larvae of flies and other minute caterpillars, insect eggs, and more. Some lady beetle species eat plants, fungi that grow on plants, or pollen.

For more on ladybugs, visit the MDC’s Field Guide.

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