Ladybird Facts

Many people are fond of ladybugs because of their colorful, spotted appearance. But farmers love them for their appetite. Most ladybugs voraciously consume plant-eating insects, such as aphids, and in doing so they help to protect crops. Ladybugs lay hundreds of eggs in the colonies of aphids and other plant-eating pests. When they hatch, the ladybug larvae immediately begin to feed.

Ladybugs are beetles whose body measuring steps of 1 and 9 mm. Rounded shape and short legs, they are marked with spots or blackheads or whiteheads depending on the species. The color variations are common.
Species are often named after their points.

Ladybugs are also called lady beetles or, in Europe, ladybird beetles. There are about 5,000 different species of these insects, and not all of them have the same appetites. A few ladybugs prey not on plant-eaters but on plants. The Mexican bean beetle and the squash beetle are destructive pests that prey upon the crops mentioned in their names.

Many species of beetles overwinter together in nature or in the home, and they emerge in the spring to spawn. This is the only time these insects show of sociability. These colonies can contain 20 to more than 100 people crowded against each other.

What do ladybugs eat?

Do not rely on the friendly appearance of this insect. In their miniature world, beetles and their larvae are true ogres.
They are a consumer of aphids and scale insects, insects that attack crops.

Their appetite knows no bounds. It is estimated that about 3000 ladybug eats aphids during its short life.

Their distinctive spots and attractive colors are meant to make them unappealing to predators. Ladybugs can secrete a fluid from joints in their legs which gives them a foul taste. Their coloring is likely a reminder to any animals that have tried to eat their kind before: "I taste awful." A threatened ladybug may both play dead and secrete the unappetizing substance to protect itself.