What kinds of ladybugs are there? A guide to common ladybugs

There are as many as over 4000 species of ladybugs, of which more than 80% are carnivorous. Ladybugs that mainly prey on insects include the seven-spot ladybird, the tortoise-shell ladybird, the harlequin ladybird, and others. Ladybugs that mainly prey on leaf moths include Stethorus punctillum, Scymnus hoffmanni, Scymnus posticalis, and others. Ladybugs that mainly prey on scale insects include Chilocorus rubidus, Chilocorus kuwanae, Chilocorus circumdatus, and others. Ladybugs that mainly prey on powdery mildew fungi include Psyllobora vigintiduopunctata, Halyzia sanscrita, and others.

The ladybug belongs, in entomology, to the order Coleoptera, family Coccinellidae. Because its shape closely resembles the gourd ladle used for holding water, it is called the ladybug.

The ladybug's body is very small, only about the size of a soybean. It is a small beetle shaped like half a round ball, with hard wings, bright colors, and many black or red markings, making it a favorite. In some regions of our country it is called “Hongniang” (the red maiden), and in others it is called “Hua Dajie” (the flowery big sister). The ladybug has two layers of wings; the outer layer has become a hard shell that serves only for protection, so it is called the elytron. Beneath the elytra there is another layer of very thin soft wings that enable it to fly.

Ladybugs are mainly beneficial insects, though a small number are pests. Common beneficial insects: the two-spot ladybird, the six-spot ladybird, the seven-spot ladybird, the twelve-spot ladybird, the thirteen-spot ladybird, the eyed ladybird, the large red ladybird, and others; the eleven-spot ladybird and the twenty-eight-spot ladybird are both pests. Beneficial insects, whether larvae or adults, can eat pests such as aphids, scale insects, and mites. These pests reproduce and grow on the stems and leaves of plants, sucking the plant's sap, causing flower buds to drop and fruit to decrease, and the yield and quality of crops are severely affected. When a ladybug finds a place where pests such as aphids are densely gathered, it eats the aphids one after another. A single ladybug can eat more than a hundred aphids a day on average. Its larvae are also experts at eating aphids; using ladybugs to control pests has a very long history.