Table of content

  • Introduction of the Insect
  • Classification
  • Distribution and Status
  • Identification
  • Problems with Identical signs
  • Habit and Habitat
  • Life cycle (Bionomics)
  • Damage
  • Common signs and symptoms of infestation
  • Symptoms of damage
  • Why is it important?
  • Management
  • Cultural practices
  • Biological control
  • Chemical treatment
  • Restrictions
  • Genome sequences
  • Published research.
  • References

Ladybug

Introduction of the Insect

Ladybird is a name that has been used in England for more than 600 years for the European beetle Coccinella septempunctata. As knowledge about insects increased, the name became extended to all its relatives, members of the beetle family Coccinellidae. Of course these insects are not birds, but butterflies are not flies, nor are dragonflies, stoneflies, mayflies, and fireflies, which all are true common names in folklore, not invented names. The lady for whom they were named was “the Virgin Mary”, and common names in other European languages have the same association (the German name Marienkafer translates to “Marybeetle” or ladybeetle). Prose and poetry mention ladybird, perhaps the most familiar in English being the children’s rhyme: Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home, your house is on fire, your children all gone

English name        Ladybug

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Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Coleoptera (Beetles)

Suborder Polyphaga

No Taxon (Series Cucujiformia)

Superfamily Coccinelloidea

No Taxon (Coccinellid group)

Family Coccinellidae (Lady Beetles)

The cosmopolitan ladybug can be found throughout the world. Over 450 species of ladybugs live in North America, though not all are native to the continent. Worldwide, scientists have described over 5,000 Coccinellid species.

Host Range

Ladybugs are happy in many different habitats, including grasslands, forests, cities, suburbs, and along rivers. Seven-spotted ladybugs are native to Europe but were brought to North America in the mid-1900s to control aphid populations. Ladybugs are most active from spring until fall.

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Ladybird eggs produce larvae that undergo four instars before pupating, metamorphosing, and giving rise to adults. So far as is known, all the Florida species have this typical life cycle. Typically, ladybirds have several generations each year, and reproduction is slowed or halted by cooler winter weather, when adults may hibernate.

In Florida, adults and larvae of 75 species feed on scale insects (in the broad sense, see below), and only 13 feed primarily on aphids. As pointed out by Dixon (2000), there are typical differences in behavior between these trophic groups. Those that feed on aphids develop faster, age faster, move faster, typically are larger, and lay their eggs in clusters. Those that feed on scale insects develop more slowly, live longer, move more slowly, typically are smaller, and lay their eggs singly.

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Most species of ladybirds are considered beneficial because they are predators of Homoptera or Acarina, many of which are considered to be pests. These predatory ladybirds contribute to the regulation of populations of their prey, and in some situations contribute a high level of regulation. When ladybirds naturally contribute a high level of control of pests, or in combination with other predators and/or parasitoids and diseases contribute a high level of population regulation of pests, people may benefit. That is to say that gardeners, growers and farmers may benefit, at no cost, because they have no or negligible pest problems.

Sometimes, gardeners mistake the ladybird larvae for pests and spray chemical pesticides that kill them (this is much less of a problem with growers and farmers because they have more experience). The result is increased problems from real pests. The answer is a constant educational effort to inform people about ladybirds and what their larvae look like. This effort cannot end, because people knowing nothing about ladybird life cycles are born each minute.

One type of biological control is thus called manipulative biological control (of which a subset is conservation biological control). The objectives are simply to capitalize on the ladybirds (or other beneficial organisms) that already are present, to make conditions as favorable as possible for them (manipulation), and especially to avoid spraying chemicals (insecticides, fungicides, or herbicides) that will harm them (conservation) (see Liu and Stansly 1996).

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