Most of us can recognize adult lady beetles,
but what about the immature stages, the larvae and pupae?
Don’t they look bizarre? The larva in the third photograph (with the pupa) has attached itself to the leaf in preparation of becoming a pupa too.
These are the larvae and pupa of the multicolored Asian lady beetle, Harmonia axyridis . I took these photos on a recent trip to upstate New York. These lady beetles were intentionally introduced to the United States in the early 1980’s.
Did you guess which of the two beetles were lady beetles from Wednesday’s Bug of the Week?
If you guessed both, then you are a lady beetle pro!
The bottom photograph in Wednesday’s post is our common convergent lady beetle, Hippodamia convergens, the type of lady beetle often sold in stores.
Lady beetles come in a number of colors besides orange with black spots, however, including this black with rusty-colored spots.
This is a cutie called the ashy-gray lady beetle, Olla v-nigrum. Why is it called ashy-gray? Because the same species comes in another color morph that looks like this:
Yes, not only are these both lady beetles, they are also both the same species!
Have you seen any lady beetles this month?
For more information, see Roberta Gibson Writes.
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