Ladybird Pupae Spotted
I recently noticed some small bugs on various plants on my plot which I didn't recognise. They looked like a strange cross between a beetle and a woodlouse but with black and yellow markings.
As always, I went home and did my research before deciding whether to remove them, and it turns out they are ladybird pupae and therefore very welcome. I can't imagine why I haven't seen these before as ladybirds are quite prevalent on my plot and I'm very familiar with their larvae.
The pupa stage is when the larva becomes a ladybird. It sticks itself to a leaf (near a source of aphids so that the ladybird will have food), curls up and begins to metamorphosize. It can take a week before it emerges as a proper ladybird. The new ladybirds are orange rather than red to start with and the shells and wings are often crumpled. I saw one the other day and was afraid it had been damaged before I realised it had just emerged.
Luckily, these pupae are of the common 7-spot ladybird, and not the invasive Harlequin species.
As always, I went home and did my research before deciding whether to remove them, and it turns out they are ladybird pupae and therefore very welcome. I can't imagine why I haven't seen these before as ladybirds are quite prevalent on my plot and I'm very familiar with their larvae.
The pupa stage is when the larva becomes a ladybird. It sticks itself to a leaf (near a source of aphids so that the ladybird will have food), curls up and begins to metamorphosize. It can take a week before it emerges as a proper ladybird. The new ladybirds are orange rather than red to start with and the shells and wings are often crumpled. I saw one the other day and was afraid it had been damaged before I realised it had just emerged.
Luckily, these pupae are of the common 7-spot ladybird, and not the invasive Harlequin species.
Submitted by Jane, plot 9
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