These are ladybugs. Fierce devourers of all things aphid.
This is also a ladybug.
It is in its nymph form, which differs so much from our classic beloved little red lady beetle that often a terrible tragedy is set into motion. Fearing that the strange creature might be something dangerous to a Homo sapiens or, even worse, to a precious Gardenus plantus, the gardener ignorantly but very intentionally murders it.
Have you ever imagined how many ladybugs could have, would have been? Think about all the uneaten aphids that gardener unleashed upon the world. Egads!
Now, these are also ladybugs.
They are younger than nymph stage.
This, on the other hand, is NOT a lady bug.
It is a Spotted Cucumber Beetle. You might know its larval form as the (eek) Southern Corn Rootworm. Doesn’t that just sound bad? It is. Feel free to pluck it. After it destroys your corn as a baby, as an adult it WILL suck your plants into raisins. And it will feast on the rotten bananas you leave out for your butterflies. Those bananas make a good lure, actually.
And these are…
Well… you know.
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About Meredith O'Reilly
I see ladybugs here. Obviously, I have a lot of food (aphids) for them! But, I need to be on the lookout for the nymph stage. I think I’m a little different than most – I try not to kill any bugs because I don’t want to hurt any beneficial ones.
Holley recently posted..Pop!
Holley, that’s a wonderful way to garden. Don’t kill anything unless you have no choice. Letting nature take its course is the best way!
Holley: you may have seen some ladybug larvae and pupae and not realized what they were. Many people don’t recognize them because they look so different from the adults. They may even be killing them by mistake. Luckily you are smart enough not to do that. To get acquainted with ladybug earlier stages, I suggest that you look at these pages: http://bugguide.net/node/view/225381/bgimage and http://bugguide.net/node/view/225381.
Just remember that there are several hundreds species of ladybugs (482 to be precise) in North America. It isn’t easy to know them all.
It is also good to remember that Syrphid flies, lacewings, assassin bugs, parasitic wasps and a few other creatures also devour aphids.
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What a great post Meredith! It’s so important to look at ALL of the stages of an insect’s life as you have shown us they appear very different. I do see lots of lady bug eggs on the undersides of leaves in the spring and have learned how important they are to having aphid free plants!
Kathy, they are indeed! I love to watch the way ladybugs and the nymphs go after aphids — I’m in awe of how truly voracious they can be.
The last photo is leading to the third! Hehe!
Ever since I’ve seen what a ladybug juvenile looks like, I’ve been keeping my eye out… sadly I don’t see a lot of them – hopefully they’re there and I’m just not looking hard enough. I want more beneficials that will hunt down my most dreaded nemesis:
Squash Borers!!!
::cue sinister music::
Squash borers, eek! When I was growing pumpkins, I was obsessed with looking for eggs. I had luck my first year. We’ll see what happens this year!
ummm…..beetles in luv?
Great shots showing the various stages in the life of a lady beetle. Somehow they look more sinister without the candy coated shell!
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I like that phrase “candy-coated shell.” I’m so going to have to use that!