#ladybug larva

[shiba-boyfriend]

raindrop hat!

[luckyneinphotos]

January 22, 2024

[csolarstorm]

Today, on bugs I saw: it's Spring!

And there's ladybugs, ladybugs, ladybugs! Actually, Asian lady beetles.

They're coming out of their larval state for the Spring! The one on the right is almost there. It still looks a little...larval-y.

Many of them are still in their larval state. It was really difficult to capture the detail on this one under a wildflower stalk, so my mom put a paper towel behind it and that seemed to help.

Lastly...mealybugs. Of the cottony variety. They're killing my petunias. 😠

I need to get some of those lady beetles onto my petunias to eat the mealybugs. I'm sad to say I did kill a bunch of them - I don't like killing bugs, but my petunias aren't doing well. I sprayed a ton of neem oil on the petunias afterward - hopefully that will help.

I also saw some baby mantises that just hatched, but it was way inside a tree's leaves where it would be hard to take a picture of, and also safe from the birds. I can wait!

[jupiterswasphouse]

If you've ever wondered what the larvae of ladybugs look like, here's one example! There are other types, but this is one of them!

[inthecityofgoodabode]

November 2022: Feeling Like Fall

My mom hosted a little family get together this Saturday with all my redneck relations. One of my cousins is in the Marines & wasn’t going to be able to be in town for Thanksgiving so this was a big deal for one of my aunts.

This is my mom talking shit after everyone left: 

Ladybug larvae focusing on becoming a pupae: 

Today’s backyard garden harvest... I didn’t expect this: 

The Red Menace with something in his beard: 

You know you’re a gardener when you have spinosad on your kitchen counter: 

It was cold & chili happened: 

[blubbed]

ladybug larva, dustin humes

[jonnysinsectcatalogue]

Asian Ladybug - Harmonia Axyridis - larva

I’ve been beating around the bush long enough with these young insects, so as promised in an earlier post that featured an active pupa, I’m excited to have a showcase on the beginnings of the Asian Ladybug’s life cycle. Well, beginning after hatching anyways, as the egg comes first, being placed somewhere by an adult female Ladybug. Ideal locations include plants that will be full of soft-bodied insects such Aphids or small Caterpillars. Ideally, this would be perfect on other plants not frequented by other adult Ladybugs so as to prevent stretching of resources and/or adults eating the unhatched eggs! Yikes! Though they hatch as spiked, dark, elongated beasties, they need to feed on other insects such as the adults do. The adults are best equipped to the wild world though due to their armor, wings and chemical defenses, so the Ladybug Larvae need to trend somewhat lightly and not spend too much time exposed on the greenery. However, we they can press their own advantages when they find an Aphid aggregation and go to town, consuming them till full! Naturally this makes Ladybug Larvae just as useful to a forest ecosystem (or a garden one) as the adults. 

As they eat wave after wave of Aphid, the larva molts, becoming larger and more defined as it enters its next instar. Scale may be difficult to judge, but on average the Ladybug larvae (across all species) have “grubs” that may start small, but become larger in size than the adults by their last 1-2 instars. This isn’t uncommon for Beetles as a whole: in their pupation they tend to trade size for wings, armor, genitalia and accessory features (such as horns). That’s all quite fair, but until then it’s a soft body, all the insects that can be eaten within walking distance and a bumpy, spiky abdomen as a deterrent. Pay close attention to that spiked rear as each specie of Ladybug Larva can be differentiated using the patterning as a big clue. Case in point, the Asian Ladybug Larva features 2 streaks of orange running along their back, followed by particular orange horizontal striping: 1 stripe close to the thorax and 2 at the end of their abdominal streaks. The streaks do a lovely job of highlighting their spikes, which others may construe as a warning, perhaps? Look for the patterned abdomens if you plan on searching for these larvae. The window to do so is very wide, with high peaks in the summer and around Halloween. To illustrate this, note the dates of when these larvae where found below.

Pictures were taken on June 24, September 26 and October 20, 2019 with a Samsung Galaxy S4. With these dates spread apart like this, we are looking at 3 generations of Ladybugs that year, minimum. Based on hatching times of other Ladybugs, it’s likely that  there was a generation of hatchlings as early as late April! These Ladybugs certainly can get a head start on things if they can lodge in a home over the winter.

[inthecityofgoodabode]

Tuesday Backyard Harvest, Dinner & A Couple of Bugs

Guardian of the Giant Marconi: 

Today’s backyard garden harvest. A few of the cayennes have blossom end rot. It is now a waiting game to see if the good parts ripen before the rot overtakes them: 

My wife made dinner tonight. Meatloaf, boiled okra, purple hull peas and braised greens (a mix of Swiss Chard and kinds of kale). The tomato sauce is from a jar but was enhanced with homegrown tomatoes, basil & oregano: