The Farmer's Friend, the Small Beetle

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ika01yesterday2 min read

Its body is tiny, almost round, measuring 1 to 10 mm in length. It has small wings, generally bright red with dark dots. Wings can be yellow, black, brown, gold, and most commonly red. These are ladybugs, also known as ladybirds.[¹]

Ladybugs belong to the Coccinellidae family, which consists of six to seven thousand species. Most are insectivorous, a small number are leaf-eaters, and others are fungus-eaters. Their lifespan in the wild is around two to three years. Female ladybugs lay their eggs in colonies of their prey, so that when the eggs hatch and become larvae, they don't have to worry about food. A single ladybug larva can prey on up to 1,000 individual insects as it grows.[¹]

Ladybugs are often found among flowering plants. Ladybugs are attracted to flowers because they feed on nectar and pollen. However, as predators, their primary food is soft-bodied insects, such as mites, aphids, fruit flies, leafhoppers, and other small plant pests. Because they aid in pollination and eat agricultural pests, ladybugs are a farmer's best friend. As farmers become more interested in adopting environmentally friendly farming models, ladybugs are gaining attention.[¹]

As pest-predating insects, ladybugs can be cultivated and sold. They are popular with farmers and ornamental plant enthusiasts. In America, for example, ladybugs can be purchased online. For $100, buyers can purchase 10,000 ladybugs. These troop of ladybugs are then released into agricultural areas, gardens, or parks, ready to eradicate pests naturally.[¹]

Ladybugs aren't just red. They also come in yellow and orange. Their body patterns are also diverse, not just the seven black dots. It's no surprise, friends, because there are 5,000 species of ladybugs. That's a lot, right? However, the most famous is the red-bodied ladybug with black dots on its back.[²]