Facts About Ladybug Up Close

From their spotted hides to their superpowers of warding off predators, there’s much about these helpful insects to marvel at. Here are a few facts about ladybug up close that you may not have known:

Ladybugs are one of nature’s most effective pest control tools, especially for vegetable plants such as tomatoes and beans. They are attracted to the greenish, aphid-infested leaves of these crops and can suck up huge numbers in an instant. This helps keep the populations of aphids down, which is good news for gardeners.

You’re likely to see more than one ladybug at a time if you look closely enough in the garden. Unlike most insects, which tend to move in isolated groups, these beetles often assemble in roiling masses of several bodies thick. These mass movements are called aggregations and can cover miles in a short period of time. It’s an arresting sight, and also a good way to know whether you’ve got a problem with aphids in your garden.

In some places, a roiling ladybug aggregation is considered a sign of good luck. If you see such a group, try to take a picture of it from an elevated spot to get a good view of the insect’s distinctive markings. Then, you can share the good fortune with your friends and neighbors!

A few things to bear in mind when observing a ladybug aggregation: The color and size of the ladybugs will vary. A “typical” ladybug is round and red, but you’ll also find them in other colors as well as with stripes. Some have spots, while others don’t have any at all. The color and number of spots is determined by climate, species and food availability.

The aphids that the ladybugs devour will eventually cause them to grow too big for their tiny larval shells. Once that happens, the bugs will shed their shells and enter a pupal stage that lasts about a week. During this time, the nymphs will look more like miniature black alligators than the sweet, spotted adults they’ll become.

To understand how the ladybug folds its wings away when it lands, scientists at the University of Tokyo replaced two-thirds of a polka-dotted forewing with an artificial transparent version and used high-speed cameras to observe the process. The team found that a series of nudges from the insect’s abdomen triggers the creases in the hind wings to fold inward. The curved alignment of the wings’ wing veins with these creases further aids the quick, neat tucking-in of the hind wings.

Some entomologists prefer to call the bugs by their scientific name: Coccinellidae, which means “lady beetles.” They are not really bugs, which belong to the insect order Hemiptera, but true beetles that are part of the Coleoptera order. The word ladybug derives from the fact that these insects are notably polite and friendly, and will often eat aphids and other plant-eating pests in large numbers. In some areas, the beetles have begun to compete with native plants for aphids, and their aggressive aggregations can be unsightly as well as destructive.