Could it be ladybugs are the first insect caught by our children? I can't remember my first love, but I'm sure it was a tie between fireflies and ladybugs.
Did you know ladybugs are actually beetles? I suppose ladybugs became the appropriate epithet since it sounds cuter than lady beetle!
Lady beetles are in the Coccinellidae family of insects, with more than 450 different lady beetles in North America. Many serve as predators of aphids, butterflies, moths, and skipper eggs, and other soft-bodied insects. We must understand that all Nature's children have to eat, and butterfly and skipper eggs are fair game for those of us who love these winged wonders.
Did you know there are more colors of the ladybugs than red with black spots? In addition to red, they can also be yellow, orange, brown, pink, or even all black, although I've never seen an all-black one.
The spots and bright colors on ladybugs are not for looks alone. Beyond their warning colors, ladybugs have another line of defense: They emit foul-smelling and foul-tasting blood from their leg joints when startled, and ladybugs taste terrible. I know for a fact they do! One flew in my mouth once. Yuck! The yellow liquid is toxic to many ladybug predators such as birds and small mammals, but not all insects. Assassin bugs stink bugs, and spiders—eat ladybugs.
The multicolored Asian lady beetle Harmonia axyridis (Pallas) was introduced from Asia both purposefully for classical biological control of arthropod pests and accidentally into the United States many times during the twentieth century.
Overwintering Strategies
Lady beetles have different overwintering strategies, depending on the species. Some go into diapause as adults, others overwinter as larvae, and some migrate to warmer regions.
The multicolored Asian ladybug females overwinter in protected areas such as cracks in cliffs, logs, structures, etc., and become active in spring. Once eggs are laid, development to adulthood can take over a month in cool conditions. During this time, each larva consumes approximately 300 aphids. These Asian ladybugs are the ones you'll find trying to live inside your home during the winter. Once inside, they live off of their own body, causing most of your ladybug guests to die from dehydration unless you remove them. And the act of removal typically kills them anyway.
LIFECYCLE
The lifecycle of a ladybug—egg to mature adult—takes four to eight weeks.
Eggs
In spring, females lay clusters of eggs near the prey, such as aphids, which provides food for both the adults and hatching larvae. After a female lays her eggs, they will hatch in between three and ten days, depending on the temperature.
Once mated, the female lays between ten-50 eggs on a plant with plenty of food to eat once hatched, usually a plant infested with aphids or mealybugs. Throughout the spring and early summer, one female ladybug can lay up to 1,000 eggs. Eggs are yellow to orange, shaped like spindles, and usually laid in clusters.
Larvae
Larvae are often described as miniature alligators, and they really do! The coloring is typically blue-black with orange markings.
After approximately five to eight days, adults will emerge, and empty pupal cases often remain behind.
Female ladybugs lay as many as 1,000 tiny gold-colored eggs during a single season, but not all of them make it to adulthood. While they prefer to lay their eggs on leaves covered with aphids, the ladybugs may eat the eggs and larvae when prey is in short supply.
Chrysalis
The larva will live and grow for about a month before it enters the pupal stage, which lasts about 15 days.
Adult
As adults, most ladybugs live one year and can eat 5,000 aphids in their lifetime. Adults may live two to three years in favorable conditions. They also go through diapause or hibernate (up to nine months) to survive winter's cold temperatures below 55 degrees.
The seven-spotted lady beetle, Coccinella septempunctata, originally native to Europe) and convergent lady beetle, Hippodamia convergens, is native to North America) are two of the more common in the Southeast.
Regardless of species, most adults are brightly colored (orange or red), exhibit various spot patterns (or have no spots), and are approximately 1/4 inch in diameter.
Soon we will be welcoming our lady friends, whether if you refer to them as bugs or beetles.