The seven-spot ladybug has been known to everyone since childhood. Many children are not afraid of this insect. They come up with a lot of fairy tales and funny poems about him. This species was first described in 1758. This red insect, according to the observations of entomologists, is of great benefit to people. It destroys harmful insects that damage plants in gardens.
Where does this insect live?
Of all the species, the most famous is the seven-point ladybug. It can be found in all European countries except the northern zones. In addition, this bug is in North Africa and even in Japan.
But in North America, the insect could not be of particular benefit. Despite the fact that he was brought to the continent, the red ladybug could not take root. In North America, there are only a few species that do not bring the desired results.
This insect prefers to live in a grass grove, as well as in forest plantations, meadows, fields, plains and ravines. It is in the autumn period that ladybugs form large column flocks. The number of accumulated insects reaches several thousand.
Description of this species, developmental features
Initially, the ladybug has the appearance of a larva, the size of which does not exceed 1 mm. She only needs one month to move to a new level of development.
Then it already has a size of 8 to 10 mm. The body of the larva is usually gray, but the head is yellow. The same color and spots on the sides of this insect. The trunk has segments in which you can see black spikes with hairs.
In order to get food, such a larva can climb up to a height of 12 m. During the day, for satiety, it needs to absorb about 100 adult aphids or 300 of its larvae. A month later, the larva passes into the pupal stage. For the full development and maturation of a ladybug, it takes about 12 days. But it all depends on the air temperature: the warmer it is, the faster the adult ladybug will turn out from the pupa.
Description of the adult
The body, wings and abdomen of an adult insect are black. The wings are mostly red or orange in color with specks characteristic of this insect (7 points). For this reason, the seven-point ladybug was named so. Three points are located on one red wing, and the same number on the second. But the 7th spot can be seen near the head of the beetle.
Adult ladybugs begin to appear on the street in the first half of June, when it begins to warm. In places where heat comes faster, you can meet ladybugs in May.
Aphids are eaten and can eat up to 60 adult pests during the day. From a few months to two years, a ladybug lives. The description of the larvae indicates that for growth and rapid development they eat much more aphids than adults.
Breeding
A ladybug female can lay about 1000 eggs throughout her life stage.
The eggs of these insects are oval. They have dimensions up to 1.2 mm. The color of the laid testicles is orange. The masonry shape basically looks like a small pile. An adult female can lay 20 to 90 small testicles at a time. Basically, these masonry are in safe places, that is, under the leaves, blades of grass, at the base of the branches.
A large number of ladybugs can be observed at the end of summer, when two generations of beetles have already hatched and developed. Larvae do not hibernate, since only adults can survive this period.
What types of ladybugs are there?
More than 4 thousand types are known. Types of ladybugs are divided into 7 subfamilies. Of these, the most interesting and popular types are distinguished:
- ladybug 2-point;
- 7 point;
- 12-point ladybug;
- 13-point;
- 14-point ladybug;
- 17-point ladybug;
- The ladybug is Asian.
What does this insect eat and what benefits does it bring to humans?
The seven-spot ladybug is a predator. Moreover, at any stage of its development, it eats exclusively other bugs. It mainly eats various species of aphids, which lives on all kinds of plants and trees. In addition, the bug eats the eggs of other insects: butterflies, moths , etc.
Such a beetle can most often be observed on fruit trees, shrubs of currant, as well as on pine, aspen and bird cherry. The presence of such plants in the regions of our country indicates a large number of these insects.
Many farmers use ladybugs as a healer and deliverer of aphids to preserve their crops. On a hot day, the number of these red bugs increases, especially near ponds, roads and stones heated by the sun.
What do gardeners think about the seven-point ladybug? How to attract this insect?
Is the seven-point ladybug a pest or not? Many gardeners, of course, will answer no. Thanks to this small insect, it is possible to maintain a significant amount of the crop. Aphids, which eat and harm many plants, are the main source of food for ladybugs.
Those people who prefer not to use chemical compounds for the destruction of pests for their plants believe that the ladybug will be the best assistant. But in order for the benefits of this insect to be more tangible, it is necessary to maintain appropriate conditions for the comfortable life of these red insects in their area. To do this, it is not necessary to destroy all aphids in spring, and especially resort to harmful chemicals, because then the ladybug will not fly. It’s better to leave a little aphid so that our insect can eat. This will attract ladybugs, and they will remain on your site for a long time, helping to deal with numerous pests.
Conclusion
Now you know what a seven-point ladybug is, how it looks, develops, what it eats. It turns out that such a small bug can be of great benefit! In order to attract him to your garden or garden, you don’t need to do anything special - just let the natural processes flow naturally. Remember that in nature everything is interconnected, therefore it is important to maintain this general circulation. It is also worth thinking about completely abandoning the use of all kinds of chemicals to protect the crop. Nature itself can take care of itself, you just need to help it a little!