Is the seven-spot ladybug a beneficial insect, what does it eat to grow, and does it bite and is it poisonous?

The seven-spot ladybug, also known as the golden tortoise, the new bride, and the flower big sister, is one of the most common beneficial insects in autumn in our country. Because it preys on various pests such as aphids, scale insects, and mites, it is called the “guardian of the garden”. So what does the seven-spot ladybug eat to grow? Does it bite and is it poisonous?

Is it a beneficial insect? What does it eat to grow?

The seven-spot ladybug is a beneficial insect. The adult can prey on pests such as wheat aphids, cotton aphids, locust aphids, peach aphids, scale insects, and mites. It can greatly reduce the damage to trees, melons and fruits, and various crops from pests, and is called by people “living pesticide”. It is non-toxic and harmless to humans, livestock, and natural enemy animals, leaves no residue, and does not pollute the environment.

Does it bite and is it poisonous?

Ladybugs do not bite people on purpose, and they are not poisonous. They are looking for a place to overwinter and use their mouths to gnaw out a nest. Ladybugs are beneficial insects, so there is no need to be afraid. If bitten, there is also no need to panic; it is not serious. However, some people with allergic constitutions will also show uncomfortable symptoms after being bitten by a ladybug.

Further reading:

Beneficial ladybugs:

1. Seven-spot ladybug: The seven-spot ladybug is a beneficial insect. The adult can prey on pests such as wheat aphids, cotton aphids, locust aphids, peach aphids, scale insects, and mites. It can greatly reduce the damage to trees, melons and fruits, and various crops from pests, and is called by people “living pesticide”. It is widely distributed throughout our country.

2. Large shoulder ladybug: The adult large shoulder ladybug has a body length of 0.8 to 17 mm, with an oval or long oval outline, a hemispherical dorsal side, and a flat ventral side. It is rare in number and preys on scale insects, and both adults and larvae prey on sugarcane woolly aphids. It is distributed in Guangxi, Fujian, Taiwan, China, Guangdong, Guizhou, Yunnan, and other places.

3. Tortoise-patterned ladybug: The tortoise-patterned ladybug is a beneficial insect and preys on aphids, leafhoppers, planthoppers, and so on. In cotton fields in July and August, it preys on summer aphids, cotton bollworm, and the eggs and young nymphs of other pests. At the same time, July to September is also an important natural enemy in orchards, feeding on pests such as aphids, leafhoppers, and planthoppers in apple orchards.

4. Harlequin ladybug: In addition to preying on cotton aphids, the adults and larvae of the harlequin ladybug can also prey on the eggs and young larvae of cotton bollworm. The adult's maximum daily average predation of cotton bollworm eggs is about 70 eggs, while the larvae were not seen preying on cotton bollworm eggs. For newly hatched cotton bollworm larvae, the adult preys on 70, and the fourth-instar larva preys on 69.

5. Six-striped ladybug: The six-striped ladybug is also called the six-spotted ladybird. The larva is black in body color and has white longitudinal spots in the center of its back. It feeds on many kinds of aphids. The adult has more than 20 variations in spot pattern, but the markings on the pronotum are relatively stable. It is commonly distributed from flat land to low-altitude mountain areas, often active on plants with aphids, and can be seen year-round.

6. Australian ladybug: The Australian ladybug is a beneficial agricultural insect native to Australia. It likes shaded environments and has a death-feigning habit. When newly hatched, it often concentrates on feeding on female adult cottony cushion scale, and later gradually disperses. At present, more than 50 countries have introduced the Australian ladybug to control cottony cushion scale. China began introducing it in 1955 for research and utilization, effectively controlling the occurrence of cottony cushion scale. It is known to be distributed in various citrus-producing areas in the south.

Pest ladybugs:

1. Ten-spotted ladybug: Both adults and larvae of the ten-spotted ladybug feed on leaves, causing the leaves to appear holed or notched, or eating the leaves completely and leaving only the veins. After the larvae mature, they bore into the soil to build a chamber and pupate. After adult emergence, they move to the host to cause damage, mainly feeding on grapes, wild grapes, and five-leaved raspberry and other plants.

2. Eggplant twenty-eight-spotted ladybug: The host plants of the eggplant twenty-eight-spotted ladybug are solanaceous vegetables such as potato, eggplant, tomato, and green pepper, and cucurbitaceous vegetables such as cucumber, winter melon, and loofah. In addition, it also harms beans, black nightshade, Chinese lantern, datura, tobacco, and so on. Adults and larvae feed on the leaf mesophyll, leaving the upper epidermis in a net-like pattern. In severe cases, the entire leaf is eaten. In addition, they also feed on the surface of melons and fruits; the damaged parts harden and have a bitter taste, affecting yield and quality.

3. Potato ladybug: Adults and larvae of the potato ladybug peel and feed on the leaf mesophyll on the underside of leaves, leaving only the epidermis and forming many irregular translucent fine grooves, shaped like the bottom of a basket. They can also eat leaves into holes, or even leave only the veins. In severe cases, the damaged leaves dry up and turn brown, and the whole plant dies. The gnawed parts of the fruit often split, and the tissue becomes stiff, rough, and bitter, making it inedible.