PROPER NAME:
Order Coleoptera, Family Coccinellidae.
WHEN MOST PREVALENT: Most often seen in summer
SIZE RANGE: 1-10 mm long
WARNINGS: Although many ladybird beetles are warningly colored (black and red, black and yellow), they are harmless to humans. This bright coloring is to warn their predators (mainly birds) that they are extremely bad tasting.
GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION: Throughout Canada
SOUNDS: None
Ladybird beetles are often most noticeable to humans in late fall when they begin to search for warm, sheltered places to overwinter. People with south-facing windows and walls are honored with their presence in large numbers year after year, as ladybugs from miles around congregate in these suitable locations. Many people worry about these "infestations," but once you realize that these beneficial insects are just waiting out the winter in a fairly inactive state (no eating or mating takes place for months at a time!), you can just sit back and enjoy the spectacle ... after all, you have been chosen as the best bed and breakfast in town!
Both the larvae and adults of ladybird beetles feed on soft-bodied insects, mainly aphids and scale insects. Thus, ladybird beetles can be found on plants infested with these sap-sucking pests. Look for all of them in gardens, greenhouses, fields, and meadows.
Ladybird beetles overwinter as adults, often in large swarms. Eggs are laid in the spring, and larvae appear shortly thereafter. Larvae are easy to recognize by their "alligator-like" appearance...they are fat and black, and may be banded with yellow or red. Often, they are covered with numerous spines, giving them a rather threatening appearance.
When they are ready to pupate, they attach themselves by the posterior end to a branch or leaf. Adults appear a few days later, and are active (eating and mating) well into the fall, as long as the weather is warm and mild. Both larvae and adults of ladybird beetles feed on insect pests such as aphids and scale, and thus are considered to be extremely beneficial insects.
With organic gardening all the rage, many plant and garden stores are now beginning to carry both larvae and adults of ladybugs as alternatives to chemical methods of pest control for the home gardener.
FAMILY RELATIONSa)
Order Coleoptera, Family Chrysomelidae - the leaf beetles.
b) Close cousins:
Order Neuroptera, Family Chrysopidae - the green lacewings.