I love lady bugs

       When I go for a walk in the garden, I will feel so happy if I meet a ladybug. No matter what colour it is. They look so pretty and harmless. So matching to its background of the green.

       A ladybug is an insect, a beetle actually. All of them are less than ¼ inch long, oval or round shaped, and have six short legs. They usually have very bright colors, like red, orange and yellow and some sort of pattern, like spots.

      These colors and patterns are thought to warn predators of the ladybug’s bad taste and poison. Sometimes, though, the ladybug will be a solid color with no pattern at all, and can be yellow, brown, or black.

     If you check through, you will see eight parts to the ladybug anatomy, each with its own purpose. The eight body parts are the head, antenna, eyes, pronotum, thorax, elytra, wings, and legs.

However, I won’t be recognizing them before they got to the final stage of their lives. They go through the same four stages as a butterfly. http://www.ladybug-life-cycle.com

It’s amazing to see it transforming from no spot to what we usually see…. enjoy your show!!

1.The egg stage–

Female ladybugs lay their tiny ‘yellow jellybeans’eggs on underside of the leaves. They are clever enough to protect their eggs from the predators and the bad weather. Usually they will find a place with sufficient food and lay 10 to 15 eggs at a time.  I won’t touch them when I found them under some plant leaves in springtime. I don’t want to end up killing the babies. ****************************************************************************************************

2.The larvae stage–

4 to 10 days later, the eggs will hatch and the larvae will come out and start looking for tiny mites or arphids to eat. Now they look like tiny alligators. Only after a few days, they will be large enough to molt (shed their skin). They will keep molting for as long as they are growing. ******************************************************************************************************

3.The pupa stage–

After a few weeks, the larvae will start to change to look like a shrimp and attach to a leaf. It will sleep for a few days, metamorphosing into a ladybug. ******************************************************************************************************

4.The adult ladybug stage–

The skin of the larvae will split open and the full grown ladybug will emerge. Now it will look soft and pink or very pale for a couple of hours until its shell becomes hard. As the shell hardens, it also gains pigment, which causes the ladybug to become bright red. www.ladybuglady.com/NewLadybug.html

Watch the Stages of a ladybug’s life, then you’ll know where to look for them…..

Farmers love ladybugs because they save gardens by eating pest insects. You can count on them too in your own garden. I think they are the sweetest insects, don’t you?