Ladybugs
by Sharon LaPlante
Ladybugs
are in the order Coleoptera and the
family Coccinellidae.
There are 450 species of
Ladybugs
are small round beetles with short clubbed antennae. The leathery fore wings (elytra)
Ladybugs
go through four developmental stages in their lives; egg, larva, pupa and adult.
Adult
ladybugs lay their eggs on plants that have aphids or scale living on them.
The female lays tiny eggs on these plants in the spring.
Eggs are generally laid in clumps of up to 25 eggs.
The female lives for 8-12 weeks and lays from 300 to 1,500 eggs during
her lifetime. The eggs are oval,
smooth, tiny, and come in several colors from white to yellow.
After a few days, usually three, the eggs hatch.
The larvae look like little black
alligators. They may have a red
spot on their back or may be yellow with black
The pupa turns into a very hard
chrysalis much like a butterfly chrysalis.
Some ladybug larva attach themselves to an adjacent plant to pupate while
others do not. Once the pupal skin
hardens the larvae go through a metamorphosis, similar to that of butterflies,
and then emerge as a brightly colored adult ladybug.
When
the cold weather arrives ladybugs congregate by the hundreds in the crevices of
rocks, leaf litter,
Ladybugs are greatly beneficial to our environment and should be protected. I do not use pesticides and am blessed with hundreds of the charming little creatures sharing my home and landscape. I show them nothing but respect – after all, I am the one who moved into their habitat!
Hendrickson, Robert.
Ladybugs, Tiger Lilies & Wallflowers.
Prentice Hall: New York, NY. 1993
Leahy, Christopher.
Peterson First Guides: Insects.
Houghton Mifflin: New York, NY. 1987
Milne, Lorus and Margery.
Audubon Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders.
Knopf: New York, NY. 1980
Zim, Herbert. S. and Clarence Cottam.
A Golden Guide: Insects. Golden
Press: New York, NY. 1987
Insect
World - Lady Beetles (Coccinellidae)
Is That Ladybug Carrying a U.S. Passport
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