I did a little research this morning on the life cycle of a ladybug. I realize that this seems like a strange way to spend my down time. But you see, we have a ton of these little critters all around our house and well . . .they scare me.
A little less so when I figured out that they are ladybug larvae. Only, the word larva makes me think of something slimy and so that didn't help much.
Ladybugs lay their eggs usually on leaves but lately, and because I squash and remove them I have no proof, but they have been laying their eggs on my clothes line. The eggs hatch remarkably fast only in about 3-5 days.
When they come out they look like little worms and slowly they grow into these alligator bugs.
They wander around eating aphids and other little bugs for about 2-3 weeks before they begin to curl up and form a sort of chrysalis. This guy doesn't quit have his helmet on yet.
This guy does.
After about a week they emerge from their little dens and are completely yellow. After about 15 minutes a few spots begin to show lightly and after a few hours they turn more of an orange color and the spots begin to darken. The red color and dark black spots don't show up until a few days later.
And the cycle begins again. Don't these guys realize there are children nearby. . . how rude!
Most ladybugs only live about a year but if the weather is right some of the 5,000 different kinds of ladybugs can live for 2-3 years.
Interesting. . . The more you know the more you grow!
If you want to see a movie on the life cycle of a ladybug click HERE
~And So That's What She Did.
1 comment:
Ahaha, I love that you took pictures of the whole process. Especially starting again. I had two hornets drop down to the ground about an inch in front of my nose the other day, busy making more hornets, I would presume. Explaining what they were doing after my kids came running at my shriek of surprise was fun... those are some freaky looking bugs!
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