Hobbies And Interests
Eggs
Ladybugs lay batches of eggs, usually on the undersides of leaves amid a good food supply, at least once a year. Some species lay eggs multiple times a year. The eggs are normally only a few millimetres long and a pale color. Batch sizes depend upon the species; usually a female ladybug lays about 10-40 eggs at a time. However, the number can range from just two eggs to as many as 100. The eggs hatch in a few days.
Larvae
Ladybug larvae look a little like squat caterpillars. They are usually gray, brown or black with a few red or orange dots. The reason for these relatively bright colors is to warn predators that the larvae are toxic. Like caterpillars, ladybug larvae are essentially eating machines. This stage of the life cycle is for growth. Unlike caterpillars, ladybug larvae are normally voracious little carnivores, eating the same aphid diet as the adult form. After hatching, the larvae eat, shed their skins to allow more growth, and continue eating and shedding until they have reached their full size.
Pupae
When the larvae are full size, they pupate. The pupae look inactive, but inside, the larvae are changing into ladybugs. The process normally takes about 10 days but can last for up to three months, depending on the species. The larvae choose relatively safe, sheltered places to pupate, often the underside of leaves.
Adults
When ladybugs emerge from their pupae they are a surprising pale yellow color and quite fragile. Over the following few hours, their color darkens and their wing cases harden. During the adult part of the life cycle, the ladybugs continue eating aphids, although not at the rate the larvae do. They also breed, which is perhaps the most important part of this stage. The males and females find one another and mate. Then the females lay more eggs to start the next cycle. The adult stage is the stage where it is easiest to identify the species, each of which has a distinctive number and pattern of spots.