Hobbies And Interests
Characteristics and Appearance
Ladybird beetles are broad, rounded insects. Their average size is about one-tenth to half an inch. Its elytra -- the part of its carapace that covers the wing for protection -- are often red or orange with black spots. Common features of ladybirds also include a distinct clubbed antenna and legs adapted to walk on leaves. The larvae have peculiar wart-like bumps or "tubercles" along their bodies and are marked with a distinctive pattern of black patches.
Life Cycle
The ladybird beetle lays many small, capsular, yellow-colored eggs in a dense cluster. Each egg moves through a series of metamorphic phases before reaching maturity. First, a minuscule, black larva with six legs hatches from an egg. This larva molts its outer covering three times. The larva also has a spiked, sectioned torso and a strong mandible for eating. After sufficiently growing to a full-sized larva, it ensconces itself as a pupa. The pupa cocoons for one or two weeks, after which a mature ladybird develops.
Diet
Ladybirds are predatory beetles. Larvae often eat aphids voraciously. Aside from aphids, adult ladybirds also feed on pests and other insect-damaging plants, such as scale insects and mealy bugs. Despite being predatory, ladybirds have few of the usual features of predatory insects, such as long legs and prominent eyes for quick movement. Since the ladybird's diet is mostly composed of slow-moving insects, the need for such features doesn't exist.
Occurrence and Habitat
Ladybird beetles occupy areas where plant life is abundant, and they feed on parasites living on plants. Some ladybirds migrate in large groups to mountainous areas and hibernate in caves or piles of rocks. Larval beetles undergo pupa stages from middle to late summer. Only a small number of year-old beetles actually reach their second winter, as most ladybirds can only live for a year.