 | | Harmonia axyridis - Front view | |
| | |
| | Ladybirds (ladybugs, lady beetles) | Ladybirds (Coccinellidae) are a diverse family within the order Beetles.
The body of the ladybird is dome-shaped, shortened or oval. They are between 1 to 12 mm in length. The head, chest and underside are usually black however some have a light brown to red-brown underside. The coloring of the head depends on the rest of the body and is sometimes different to the coloring of the body. The body color ranges from light beige to yellow, orange, all the brown tones, pink, red to black. Young ladybirds are initially white or yellowish. The coloring serves as a warning to enemies. There are hairy species of ladybirds. | | |
|  | | Beetle - Orange ladybird | |
| | |
| | | It is characteristic of the ladybird to have symmetrical spots on the wing covers. The color of these spots can be black, bright red, or brown. The number of spots varies. There are species with 2, 4, 5, 7, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 22 and 24 spots. Furthermore the number of spots within a species can also vary. | | |
|  | | Propylaea quatuordecimpunctata | |
| | |
| | The larvae of ladybirds can look very different to each other, but they are mostly elongated and plump. They are blue-grey, brown or yellow in color with yellow, orange or red spots. One can often determine from the coloring of the larvae what their coloring will be as adults. Some larvae are similar to those of the dragonfly. | | |
|  | | Seven-spot ladybird | |
| | |
| | Ladybirds are found throughout the world, but more commonly in warmer climates. They live in forests, meadows, dry grass, moors, heaths, parks and gardens. Furthermore the length of the routes they fly varies: short when searching for food and long when searching for places to overwinter. Ladybirds often occur in swarms. | | |
|  | | Asian lady beetle with six points | |
| | |
| | Ladybirds eat aphids, scale insects, powdery mildew, fungi, Spider mites, true bugs, thrips, beetle larvae, or larvae of Tenthredinidae and larvae of Lepidoptera. When food is short ladybirds also feed on plant substances. Cannibalism can be encountered among both adult ladybirds and their larvae. | | |
|  | | Asian lady beetle with elytrons cushy opened | |
| | |
| | Natural enemies of the ladybird are: ground beetles, Reduviidae , birds, lizards, shrews and frogs. The Dinocampus coccinellae (a parasitoid wasp) is a specialized enemy. Certain Hymenoptera, aphids and nematodes also have a harmful, parasitic relationship with ladybirds. | | |
|  | | Asian lady beetle - exposing what´s hidden under its elytrons | |
| | |
| | As ladybirds eat pests they are considered useful by humans. However In Europe the Subcoccinella vigintiquatuorpunctata can be harmful, especially if it occurs in alfalfa , sugar beets, clover, potatoes, carnations and dahlias. | | |
|  | | Three Seven-spot ladybirds | |
| | |
|
|
