Welcome to another one of these silly blogs! First things first:
I am not an expert!
I am not an entomologist, I have not studied beetles in any formal setting. I'm just an English major with a garden and an iNaturalist account. I started this blog more to challenge myself than anything else!
Please tell me if I am wrong!
I live in Southern California and am most familiar with the species I've seen in person. I'm more likely to make mistakes with species from other regions, especially if the region isn't listed in the original post.
Ladybug = lady beetle = ladybird...
All three terms refer to the exact same group of insects! The differences are mostly regional. I used to be very self righteous about using "beetle" over "bug," but now I scoff at consistency and use whatever feels like the best vibes in the moment.
...which includes the Asian lady beetle!
If at any point you feel tempted to comment "that's not a ladybug and you should murder it!" please READ THIS FIRST I am begging you.
Species masterpost
A list of the species that have been featured on this blog so far: https://identifying-ladybugs-in-posts.tumblr.com/private/781121671049478144/tumblr_nnvoePwGz2LHT3EMH?source=share
Tag guide
IDs are tagged by genus as well as abbreviated genus + species. I do it this way so you can look at, say, all the fungus-eating lady beetles at once, or see the 22-spotted and my beloved 20-spotted ladybugs separately.
IDs are tagged with OP's username. Non-reblogs are tagged #identifying-ladybugs-in-posts
#art = drawn, sculpted, painted, knitted, or otherwise not a direct photograph of an actual ladybug
#stylized = exaggerated, simplified, or abstracted to the point of not attempting to be an accurate illustration of a specific ladybug. Think cartoonish ladybugs, or ladybug-themed items. Sometimes these still look like ladybugs but have certain features changed, sometimes they bear no resemblance to any actual species. I like to ID these with the closest species that could have "inspired" it and what similarities it shares. Just for the fun and the challenge!
#larva and #pupa are tagged, as well as #male and #female if specified
#unidentified = doesn't have a species ID
#undetermined = vague, uncertain, or unconfirmed IDs
#not my ID = ladybug was IDed earlier in the thread by someone else, I'm just reposting the same info
#not a ladybug = IDs of other bugs, often ladybug mimics or misidentified as ladybugs
#how to ID = info on how to tell species apart
#not an ID = other posts
Triggers and phobias: I tag #Araneae for spiders and #Arachnida for other arachnids. If you need anything else tagged, please let me know and I'll do my best!
Today's creature is the seven-spot ladybird! They are native to Europe, Asia, and North America. They can be found in areas with lots of plantlife. They eat aphids and are often used as pest control due to this. They can eat other things in emergencies but cannot reproduce without aphids. Females will mate with multiple males. They lay clusters of 10-30 eggs on leaves and can lay up to 500 eggs in their lifetime. They hibernate together in groups to stay warm.
Hi! The seven-spot ladybird is NOT native to North America. It is invasive, along with the much-hated Asian lady beetle. Both species are likely to have contributed to the decline of native species like the nine-spotted ladybug.
Ladybug amigurumi! I revamped a pattern I made last year (one from this post).
I kept the color changes for the spots the same, but the legs and middle section (pronotum) were redesigned. Also, the top and bottom pieces of the main body are crocheted together rather than sewn here!
Something from the subfamily chilocorinae, maybe Chilocorus nigritus?
All are members of the beetle family Coccinellidae- so all are Lady Beetles. Ladybug is just a term that shows up in the common names of a lot of different species within the family!
Great question! Many-Colored Asian Lady Beetles are a different species entirely! :D They come in all shades from a pale yellow to deep blood red and can have many spots or none at all, and can be identified by the "M" shape in black that you can see on this one's first segment!
They're incredibly invasive, too- you know how some places in the US complain of massive "ladybug swarms" in their windows in the summer? Well those are usually actually Lady Beetles! :D
Though the can look quite similar, ladybugs have no "M" marking, have fewer spots, are usually symmetrical, and don't invade houses- they are predatory and mostly just eat aphids.
And on top of being rather smelly and invading houses, Lady Beetles are very agressive and can bite!
They aren't venomous, though, and their mouths are too tiny to do significant damage :)
Hi! Ladybug and ladybeetle are in fact synonymous terms. The Asian Lady Beetle is a type of ladybug, and whichever species you think of when you say "ladybug" is also a lady beetle. The different terms are largely regional, with the UK using "ladybird" and the US using "ladybug" (I don't remember about other English speaking countries off the top of my head) and the scientific community mostly using "lady beetle" as it's the most specific and accurate.
The M-shaped markings can help identify the Asian Lady Beetle, but other ladybug species also have them, such as the Two Spotted Ladybug or the Painted Lady Beetle, both of which are native to North America and not invasive anywhere else as far as I know. Also, some Asian Lady Beetles don't have the M-shaped mark at all.
All ladybugs are capable of biting* and smelling bad. In fact, personally I've only ever been bitten** or swarmed or had my house invaded by Convergent Lady Beetles, another native North American species. (They're extremely numerous in my hometown, while the Asian Lady Beetle doesn't seem to show up at all!)
As a final note, it's very likely that when you think "ladybug" you think of the Seven Spotted Ladybug, which is kind of the most iconic well-known platonic ideal of a ladybeetle. It's worth knowing that those are ALSO INVASIVE in North America--to a lesser extent than the Asian Lady Beetle, but I'd argue more insidiously, because they are now inextricably tied to this "ladybug vs lady beetle" misinformation. I've seen so many people who believe that Seven Spots are the only "real" ladybug, or even that they're endangered. They're doing fine; the famously endangered "lost ladybug" species is the Nine Spotted Ladybug,*** whom the invasive Seven Spot and Asian ladybugs have largely outcompeted.
* Well, almost all. There's several species that eat plants or fungus, and since they're not carnivores like all the predatory ladybugs, I'm not sure if their mouthparts are any different or weaker? But this was wordy enough already
** I might've gotten bit by a Seven Spot, which were also common in my hometown, though not nearly as much as the Convergent. Idk this was when I was a kid before I learned how to tell species apart and thought "fat ladybugs" were just pregnant
*** This last link is to Naturalist because this ladybug is so scarce that it barely shows up on my blog, but for consistency's sake here's the tag
Great question! Many-Colored Asian Lady Beetles are a different species entirely! :D They come in all shades from a pale yellow to deep blood red and can have many spots or none at all, and can be identified by the "M" shape in black that you can see on this one's first segment!
They're incredibly invasive, too- you know how some places in the US complain of massive "ladybug swarms" in their windows in the summer? Well those are usually actually Lady Beetles! :D
Though the can look quite similar, ladybugs have no "M" marking, have fewer spots, are usually symmetrical, and don't invade houses- they are predatory and mostly just eat aphids.
And on top of being rather smelly and invading houses, Lady Beetles are very agressive and can bite!
They aren't venomous, though, and their mouths are too tiny to do significant damage :)
Hi! Ladybug and ladybeetle are in fact synonymous terms. The Asian Lady Beetle is a type of ladybug, and whichever species you think of when you say "ladybug" is also a lady beetle. The different terms are largely regional, with the UK using "ladybird" and the US using "ladybug" (I don't remember about other English speaking countries off the top of my head) and the scientific community mostly using "lady beetle" as it's the most specific and accurate.
The M-shaped markings can help identify the Asian Lady Beetle, but other ladybug species also have them, such as the Two Spotted Ladybug or the Painted Lady Beetle, both of which are native to North America and not invasive anywhere else as far as I know. Also, some Asian Lady Beetles don't have the M-shaped mark at all.
All ladybugs are capable of biting* and smelling bad. In fact, personally I've only ever been bitten** or swarmed or had my house invaded by Convergent Lady Beetles, another native North American species. (They're extremely numerous in my hometown, while the Asian Lady Beetle doesn't seem to show up at all!)
As a final note, it's very likely that when you think "ladybug" you think of the Seven Spotted Ladybug, which is kind of the most iconic well-known platonic ideal of a ladybeetle. It's worth knowing that those are ALSO INVASIVE in North America--to a lesser extent than the Asian Lady Beetle, but I'd argue more insidiously, because they are now inextricably tied to this "ladybug vs lady beetle" misinformation. I've seen so many people who believe that Seven Spots are the only "real" ladybug, or even that they're endangered. They're doing fine; the famously endangered "lost ladybug" species is the Nine Spotted Ladybug,*** whom the invasive Seven Spot and Asian ladybugs have largely outcompeted.
* Well, almost all. There's several species that eat plants or fungus, and since they're not carnivores like all the predatory ladybugs, I'm not sure if their mouthparts are any different or weaker? But this was wordy enough already
** I might've gotten bit by a Seven Spot, which were also common in my hometown, though not nearly as much as the Convergent. Idk this was when I was a kid before I learned how to tell species apart and thought "fat ladybugs" were just pregnant
*** This last link is to Naturalist because this ladybug is so scarce that it barely shows up on my blog, but for consistency's sake here's the tag
The quilt!!! The Good Luck quilt !!!! just there on instagram with 60 likes on it!!!!!!!!! oh man i was looking SO HARD. i've started to do a guide to all the good luck symbols that were on it but my quest is basically over!! The edges of it aren't clear, but this is basically everything we DON'T see in the film! oh man, I feel lightheaded.
