Thursday, July 8, 2010

Spotless Ladybug

It's the time of year when ladybugs start to emerge. If you look closely, you might notice something odd once in a while when you come across one that is spotless. Have no fear, this isn't some strangely packaged omen. They are commonly known as polished ladybugs or Cycloneda munda. Either that or it's just a normal ladybug that happens to have no spots.

Different ladybugs have different numbers of spots. Some lack them entirely while others have been reported to have as many as 24. A ladybug concludes its lifecycle after just one year, and their spots are with them the whole time. They neither gain, nor lose spots as they mature. The sex of the ladybug can not be determined based on their spots. They primarily feed on tiny insects, but especially love aphids. One ladybug is capable of eating as many as 5000 aphids in its lifetime. Hence, they are commonly used in agricultural settings to control infestation of crops by other pest species.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

this ladybug is eating my "blackie" sweet potato vine....I thought they only ate ahids??