A Myriad of Ladybug Species

Ladybugs, actually beetles and not true bugs, make up the family Coccinellidae. Besides a few species that feed on plants, they mainly feed on agricultural pests including but not limited to aphids, scale, and spider mites. This makes (most of them) valuable to farmers. It is even possible to mail order a box of lady beetles nowadays. You can release them in your garden and they will put their voracious appetite to work.

While they can survive the winter and live on until next year, their spots do NOT tell their age. That is a myth. The different spots are attributed to different species of beetles.

It is autumn now and they are a common sight. All of these are pictures I took while at work harvesting a certain plant (content for a future post).

I started to see so many different kinds that I thought it would be cool to document them.

I believe each one is different.

There is even one with no spots at all.

The last picture is a good one to tie up this post.

Just as I snapped the photo, the beetle opened its hard wing cases and departed. And now I shall depart.
Thanks for reading!
I hope you enjoyed the variety of ladybird beetles that I found!