Two-spotted ladybug
The two-spotted ladybug, also known as the ladybird or lady beetle, is a beetle species recognized for its distinctive appearance, often featuring a round red body with one black spot on each of its elytra (wing cases), although it can also present variations with up to six spots or even be entirely black. This insect belongs to the Coccinellidae family and plays a crucial role in gardens as a natural predator of aphids, small pests that can damage plants. The two-spotted ladybug uses its strong mandibles to consume aphids, making it a beneficial ally for gardeners by helping to protect crops from infestations.
Typically, mating occurs in late spring to early summer, with females laying clusters of up to 300 eggs near aphid colonies to ensure food availability for the larvae post-hatching. These larvae are voracious eaters, capable of consuming hundreds of aphids during their development into adulthood. After approximately 10 to 15 days, the larvae pupate before maturing, while adults usually hibernate during winter months. The average lifespan of a two-spotted ladybug is about one year. Overall, the two-spotted ladybug is an important insect in maintaining ecological balance in garden ecosystems.
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Two-spotted ladybug
Despite its name, the two-spotted ladybug often has more than two spots. The two-spotted ladybug may have as many as six spots or can be black. If a ladybug has seven spots, it is a different species called a seven-spotted ladybug. The ladybug is sometimes called the ladybird or the lady beetle.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Coccinellidae
Genus: Adalia
Species: Bipunctata
The two-spotted ladybug is named after just one of the ways this beetle may appear. When true to its name, the two-spotted ladybug is a round, red beetle with one black spot on each of its elytra, or wingcases. Sometimes this same species may appear with up to six spots on its elytra or may be black. It may also be mostly black with four red spots or yellow with black spots. These varieties are possible for the two-spotted ladybug.
Like other beetles, the two-spotted ladybug is divided into three main body parts—head, thorax, or middle section, and abdomen, or lower-body section. The head of the two-spotted ladybug is a tiny, black, rectangular piece of the two-spotted ladybug's body. This tiny part contains the antennae, eyes, and mouthparts of the two-spotted ladybug. This beetle uses these parts to help it find the aphids on which it feeds. Aphids are tiny, white or yellow, plant-eating creatures. Aphids often destroy people's gardens, potted plants, and greenhouse plants. The two-spotted ladybug is a welcome guest to most gardens because of its eating habits. As the two-spotted ladybug eats the aphids, the plants can continue living.
The two-spotted ladybug chews aphids with its strong mandibles, or jaws. It rips them apart and pushes them into its throat with its maxillae and its lips.
Behind the two-spotted ladybug's head is its small black thorax. The thorax of the two-spotted ladybug bends curves downward from the insect's rounded wingcases to its tiny round head. Sometimes the thorax of the two-spotted ladybug has a few white dots near its base.
The red body of the two-spotted ladybug is this insect's elytra, or wingcases. Each elytrum is formed from one of the two-spotted ladybug's front wings and protects the two-spotted ladybug's delicate, rear-flying wings. When the two-spotted ladybug takes to the air, it lifts its elytra and unfolds its large, veiny rear wings. When the two-spotted ladybug is not flying, its elytra are hard, smooth, and shiny. In this position, the elytra appear as a solid piece of exoskeleton, or external skeleton.
The two-spotted ladybug typically mates during the late spring and early summer. After mating the female lays a cluster of up to 300 eggs. The cluster is typically laid near a colony of aphids to provide food for the young two-spotted ladybugs once they hatch. Typically, two-spotted ladybug young hatch after about five to eight days.
Larval ladybugs have been known to eat between 350 and 400 aphids in the 10- to 15-day period it takes them to mature into adult ladybugs. Near the end of the maturing process, larval ladybugs pupate, or rest while their bodies change from their larval forms into their adult forms. The mature two-spotted ladybug typically hibernates, or rests during the winter, and then mates in the spring.
The average lifespan for the two-spotted ladybug is about one year.
Bibliography
"Lady Beetles." Entomology And Nematology Department, University of Florida, entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/beneficial/lady‗beetles.htm. Accessed 15 May 2024.
"Two-Spotted Lady Beetle (Adalia Bipunctata) Linnaeus, 1758." Vermont Center for Ecostudies, val.vtecostudies.org/projects/lady-beetle-atlas/two-spotted-lady-beetle. Accessed 15 May 2024.
"2-Spot Ladybird." The Wildlife Trusts, www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/invertebrates/beetles/2-spot-ladybird. Accessed 15 May 2024.