Ladybugs Information

 

The Ladybug: Friend or Foe?

The ladybug, or Coccinellidae, has six jointed legs, a pair of antennae, and the three-part body, all consistent with the insect species. However, the ladybug happens to be one of the best loved insects in the world. Children love ladybugs as they are easy to catch and are brightly colored and most gardeners enjoy them as they eat aphids.
While the correct name for this insect is lady beetle, ladybug is the name that is most commonly used. There are over 450 species of ladybugs in North America alone. While many of these are native, some were brought into the area from other countries. There are more than 5,000 different ladybug species in the world. While they are usually of a red or orange coloring with black markings, there are some that are black with reddish colored markings and some may have yellow coloring, as well.

The easiest way to tell a ladybug from another insect is that they are able to retract their head into the prothorax like a turtle can. Their bodies are always a round or oval dome-shape, and they have hard shell wings that cover their inner wings.

The four most common types of ladybugs are:

-The round-shaped ladybugs, commonly called the Seven-spotted Ladybug. These are originally from Europe and are usually the first to make an appearance in the spring. They are round and have a dome-shaped, bright red beetle with seven spots of black on the back of their bright red wings.

-The oval-shaped ladybug, known as the Convergent Ladybug is orange with different spot patterns of black. It is less than ¼ inch in length and is common in the pacific coastal states. These ladybugs are sold and released to protect crops from aphids and other pests.

-The Multicolored Asian Ladybeetle is one of the larger ladybugs and can grow more than ¼ inches long. They can be identified by the five black spots they have on the anterior portion of the thorax that are usually together and will look like two curved lines or the letter M. These spots may look like a solid black trapezoid, as well. While they originated in Asia, they are found plentiful in the United States. If you have a light-colored home, you may find them migrating to the side of it.

-The C-Mac ladybug is oblong and is pink and black spotted. Less than ¼ of an inch in length, they are one of the fastest ladybugs and will feed on other insects. They are known to be effective in consuming the Colorado Potato Beetles eggs and larvae and are great protection for your garden.