Native Lady Beetle Highlight – Lady Beetle Life Cycle and Larval Stage

This week’s native lady beetle highlight isn’t of any one particular species, but rather highlights the life cycle of lady beetles, particularly the larval stage. The lady beetle life cycle proceeds through four distinct stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. The lady beetle is only in the egg stage for about a week before it emerges as a larva. Lady beetle larvae are voracious eaters, typically of other small invertebrates such as aphids, mites, and insect eggs, but some species of lady beetle also feed on fungi. Lady beetles spend several weeks feeding and developing as larvae. Once they have progressed through their larval development they anchor themselves to a substrate, often a leaf or plant stem, to undergo pupation. The pupa is a non-feeding stage of life during which the larval body undergoes many changes, transforming it into its adult form. The pupal stage typically only lasts a week or two, after which the lady beetle spends the rest of its life in its adult form.

The larvae look quite a bit different from the adults; they have slender bodies with agile legs and often appear spikey, almost reminiscent of very tiny alligators. They are typically black in color and often feature white or orange markings, though some species are lighter grey in color.
Lady beetle larvae can sometimes be confused with leaf beetle larvae in appearance; lady beetle larvae typically have longer, more slender legs whereas leaf beetle larvae have shorter legs. Leaf beetle larvae also differ in that they feed on plant tissue and often are found in association with feeding damage on trees or shrubs.

Posted on June 26, 2023 09:55 PM by awenninger