Ladybug, fly away to heaven, bring us bread, black and white, but not burnt.(Children's song).
Among all the insects living in our latitudes, it is precisely ladybug enjoys the greatest respect and honor. After all, even the name itself - "ladybug" speaks of a certain divinity of this creature. Why is the ladybug ladybug? What are the habits of this insect, what are the types of ladybugs, where do they live, what do they eat and many other interesting things about them, read on.
Where did the name ladybug come from?
Its so unusual name the ladybug received thanks to its bright red color, which aroused the sympathy of people. So, for example, in Slovenia and the Czech Republic it was called the "sun" (Slunechko), in Germany and Switzerland it is known as the "bug of the Virgin Mary", in the countries of Latin America it is called the "St. Anthony's cow". What is the origin of the name "ladybug", that is, two versions on this score, according to the first, she was called a "cow" for her ability to secrete poisonous milk that scares off potential predators, our ladybug received the prefix "lady" for her meek and peaceful disposition. According to another version, these insects became "divine" due to their ability to destroy aphids, which helps to preserve the crop.
Ladybug: description, structure, characteristics. What does a ladybug look like?
According to the biological classification of the ladybug - arthropod, which belongs to the Coleoptera and ladybug family.
The size of a ladybug is from 4 to 10 mm. The shape of their body is either round or oval-elongated, flat from below and very convex from above. The surface of the body in some species of ladybugs is covered with fine hairs. In the structure of their body, a head, pronotum, chest, consisting of three sections, abdomen, wings with elytra and three pairs of paws are distinguished.
The head of a ladybug is small (although it may be slightly elongated in some species), it is fixedly connected to the front chest. But the eyes of a ladybug are relatively large. The antennae of the insect, which consist of 8-11 segments, have great flexibility.
The pronotum of a ladybug is convex, has a transverse structure and a notch on the anterior margin. On its surface there are often "signature" spots of various shapes.
Due to the presence of three pairs of paws, a ladybug can move quite quickly both on the grass and on the stems of plants. The abdomen of ladybugs consists of five or six segments, which are covered from below by sternites (segmental semicircles).
Despite the fact that ladybugs have as many as two pairs of wings, they fly only with the help of two rear ones. The front wings, in the process of evolution, were transformed into rigid elytra, which serve as protection for the hind wings at the moment when the ladybird is on the ground.
As a means of protection against predators, ladybugs are able to secrete some kind of poisoned "milk" - cantharidin, a toxic yellow liquid that also has an unpleasant odor. Additionally, the bright colors of the ladybug also scare away enemies. The color of the protective covers of a ladybug can be not only bright red, but also yellow, black, white with spots also of different colors and different configurations. Sometimes the pattern on the pronotum of a cow can indicate its gender.
How long do ladybugs live
The lifespan of a ladybug depends on its species and the availability of food in its habitat, it can range from several months to two years. But on average, ladybugs live for about a year.
Where do ladybugs live
Ladybugs live over a wide geographic range, on almost all earthly continents with the exception of Antarctica and the polar Arctic regions. As for habitats, some of them prefer to live on plants where an aphid colony has formed, others choose sedge and reeds along water bodies as their dwelling, while others live in field grasses.
What do ladybugs eat
Ladybug Enemies
How do ladybugs live
Regardless of the species, all ladybugs are not herd insects, but ardent individualists leading an isolated lifestyle. Together they gather only during their mating season for procreation, as well as for flights to warmer climes and wintering. Since these insects love heat, the species that live in our temperate latitudes, before the onset of winter cold, gather in large flocks, and fly like birds to winter in places with a warmer climate.
Although there are sedentary individuals who also gather all together in some secluded place for the period of winter cold, usually these are the collapse of stones, fallen bark and foliage of trees. With the onset of spring and warmth, they again scatter over meadows and grasses.
Types of ladybugs, photos and names
Zoologists distinguish 4,000 different species of ladybugs, divided into 7 subfamilies. We describe the most interesting among them.
This is a beetle with a body length of up to 5 mm, with a dark red color of the body and two black dots (hence the name).
It is this type of ladybug that is most common in Europe. Its size is 7-8 mm. Its elytra are painted red, there are three black spots on the sides, the seventh is located at the head of the insect.
This ladybug has a length of 6 mm, a bright pink or red color, and, accordingly, 12 black spots on the elytra.
This type of ladybug has as many as 13 spots on the background of red-brown elytra, some of its spots can merge with each other.
This ladybug has a length of up to 7 mm and is divided into two subspecies. One of them has yellow elytra with black spots, both large and small. The second subspecies is characterized by a black color of the elytra, on which spots of red-orange color are visible.
This is a very large representative of the ladybug family, reaching up to 10 mm in length. It has red or yellow elytra and black spots surrounded by lighter rims.
This is very rare view, characteristic difference his - the absence of branded spots. Also, the red or brown body of the pitted ladybug is covered with small villi.
This is another unusual member of the ladybug family, which has a characteristic blue color. Such insects live exclusively in Australia.
How do ladybugs reproduce? Stages of development of a ladybug.
Ladybugs reach puberty, depending on the species, at 3-6 months of life. Their mating season begins in the spring. The male finds his chosen one by the characteristic smell that she emits during that period. Shortly after mating, the female ladybug lays her eggs, often very wisely, laying them near the aphid colonies in order to immediately provide future offspring with food.
Ladybug eggs are attached to the underside of the leaflets and are oval in shape with slightly tapered ends. In one clutch there are up to 400 eggs. Unfortunately, the females themselves die shortly after laying.
After 1-2 weeks, motley-colored ladybug larvae emerge from the eggs. They are oval or flat. The body surface of the larva is often covered with fine bristles or hairs. In the first days of their lives, they eat the egg shell from which they hatched, then neighboring eggs without embryos or even with them (yes, ladybug larvae can be cannibals). Gradually gaining strength, they begin to eat a colony of aphids.
In the state of the larva, the future ladybug stays for 4-7 weeks, after which the pupation stage begins. The pupa is attached to a leaf of a plant and in this position, in a cocoon, spends 7-10 days, it is during this period that all body parts characteristic of a cow are laid. After this period, a formed adult appears.
The benefits and harms of ladybugs
The benefits of a ladybug, especially in our latitudes, are undeniable, the principle “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” works here. Ladybugs eating different insects pests, provide a great service to agricultural land. Sometimes they are even specially bred in special places and then sprayed over fields and plantations infested with pests.
But among them there are also herbivorous species, most of them live in tropical areas, which can also harm agricultural crops.
- Since ancient times, people have revered ladybugs, which, in the imagination of the ancients, served as the personification of divine powers. For example, our ancestors, the ancient Slavs, considered ladybugs to be messengers of the goddess of the Sun.
- Also, from ancient times, with the help of ladybugs, people predicted the weather, so an insect flying away from the palm promised clear and sunny weather. And vice versa, a cow that wanted to stay on the hand was a messenger of bad weather, rains.
- In many cultures, a ladybug is considered a symbol of good luck, for the same reason many superstitions and signs are associated with them, the common belief is that in no case should one harm these insects, so as not to incur troubles and hardships.
- For scientists, it is still a mystery how ladybugs always invariably return to the same places after their flights for the winter.
ladybug video
And in conclusion, an interesting video about ladybugs.
"Look, ladybug!" - I often hear this from the neighbor's children when it turns out to go to the dacha. This unusual animal always arouses genuine interest in any child. I, for example. was no exception as a child. So what? The coloring is truly amazing. At the time of my childhood, probably, only lizards interested me more. :)
And how long do these amazing beetles live - ladybugs?
How long does a ladybug live
Ladybugs belong to the family of hardwings. They are also called simply "beetles". Yes, everyone knows about such animals. I. perhaps the ladybug is the most famous representative Zhukov. Perhaps scarabs are more famous. Or just I think so. :) After all, history ancient egypt and myths are very interesting to me.
So, more to the point. In fact, it is impossible to say unequivocally how long ladybugs live. These figures vary greatly, but still usually range from 10 to 12 months. Moreover, it is very interesting that only one appearance of an insect with the stages of egg, larva, pupa takes as much as 2 months. And the rest of the time is devoted to the stage of growing up.
Somewhere I have already heard about the stage of the larva and pupae. Indeed, the life cycle of butterflies with metamorphosis is similar to the cycle of these creatures. After the larva turns into a pupal stage, it spends about a few weeks in this form and then a ladybug appears.
These little beautiful beetles are truly amazing. I found a lot of interesting things about them and prepared a small selection of the very best:
- I could not imagine before why these animals have such a name. According to the main version, people called them that, because. they are very useful - they kill pests, while they are very beautiful - God's grace. Hence the unusual name.
- ladybugs are very in an unusual way scare off their ill-wishers. When danger arises, they release a substance that, by its bad smell repels predators. At the same time, in addition to a pungent odor, this substance has toxic properties.
- This is the same substance, strangely, the ancient physicians used in medicine to apply to teeth that hurt.
IN wonderful world nature, you can find a bright insect that is liked not only by children, but also by adults. This is a ladybug. In natural habitats, yellow and red ladybugs are more common. Black spots are clearly visible on the backs of insects. More than 400 species live in nature. The distribution area is everywhere, except for areas with a year-round cold climate.
Ladybug is a small insect, with a body size of 4-10, 11 mm. The spotted beetle belongs to the order Coleoptera. The body has an elongated, oval-like or roundish shape. When viewed from above, the body is strongly convex, from below it is flattened. On the surface of many species, hairs are clearly visible - a barely noticeable pubescence.
body structure:
- head;
- front back;
- chest (including 3 sections);
- abdomen;
- 3 pairs of paws;
- wings with hard elytra.
The front back of a beautiful bug has a transverse structure, strongly convex, a notch is clearly visible on the front edge.
The small head of the spotted beetle is slightly elongated forward and in a fixed way aligned with the front breast. Eyes large, not protruding, antennae very flexible, consisting of 8 segments.
On the upper part there are spots of various colors and shapes, which do not appear immediately after birth, but after a couple of weeks have passed.
The rear chest, in contrast to the front chest and middle chest, which are elongated across the calf, looks like a square.
The cute insect has 6 moderately long legs, each of which consists of 3 explicit and one hidden segment. The paws help the bug quickly sort through each blade of grass and crawl along the grass. The abdomen consists of 5-6 segments.
With the help of the hind wings, cute insects fly. The forewings eventually degenerated into rigid elytra. They serve as protection for the hindwings while the insect is crawling on the grass.
The bugs of various colors secrete cantharidin (a dangerous poison), thereby fearing from predators.
The protective covers of the bug can be painted black, yellowish, deep red, brownish or blue colors with black, red, yellowish or whitish spots. All points have different shape. In many insects, the spots merge together, forming spreading patterns. In some insects, they are completely absent. By the pattern, you can understand and determine what gender the ladybug is.
According to scientists, birds do not pose a danger to insects, as they excrete poisonous substance dangerous for birds. The bright coloring signals that the birds do not approach and scares them away.
Where does it live?
Beautiful bugs are distributed on all continents. They populated all areas. The exceptions are areas where the temperature does not exceed 0°C throughout the year and Antarctica.
The insect can be found in all European countries: Great Britain, fragrant in the colors of Denmark, Sweden, France, Iceland. Germany, Italy, Poland also sheltered this bright insect. Ladybugs fly over India, Korea, Islamic Republic, Japan, South and North America, Mongolia. The distribution area also captures Laos, Myanmar, Indonesia and even Cambodia.
In nature, there are many types of bright representatives of the insect world, their classification is simply huge, and each of them prefers specific habitats and each of them has a specific role. Some species settle on those plants that have been damaged by aphids. Others can be seen on field and marsh grasses.
What does it eat?
Ladybugs are mainly insect predators. What does a ladybug eat? Favorite food - mites and plant-eating aphids. With great pleasure they eat small caterpillars, even furry ones, pupae, eggs of moths, butterflies and the Colorado potato beetle.
What do ladybugs usually eat? The diet of some species is limited only to plant foods: they adore mycelium, pollen, flowers, fruits and leaf plates of plants.
Lifestyle
Ladybugs prefer to live "alone", apart from other representatives of the species.
Only during the mating season do they come together to continue their race. They also gather together for flights and wintering.
Ladybug can be called a carnivorous insect, therefore, with the onset of the cold period, all insects living in latitudes with a temperate climate gather together and fly away to warm countries.
Among insects there is a sedentary species. They do not fly away to countries with a hot and dry climate, but gather in one place and winter in huge communities of up to 400 million adults. If you calculate how much such a “ball” weighs, you can get a figure equal to several tons.
To hide from adverse climatic conditions, the "suns" hide in the ruins of stones, they also hide under the fallen leaf plates of shrubs.
At good conditions and the presence of food, spotted insects can live for 1 year. Under adverse conditions, the life of insects does not exceed several months.
reproduction
The appearance of offspring depends on the species: insects breed in spring or autumn, depending on the variety and belonging to a particular species, an adult individual of a bizarre bug can lay 3-300 eggs.
Ladybug larva: transformation process
An interesting fact is that the "suns" lay their eggs near aphid settlements. The development cycle of the larva lasts no more than a week. As it develops, it feeds on aphids daily.
Full maturation occurs by the second week of development. The time is already coming when one can observe the transformation of the larva into a chrysalis. After 7 weeks, an adult is born from the pupa.
If, during growth, the insects lack the main food - aphids, to saturate their bodies, the bugs fly to the territory of the beaches. During the flight, they annoy even people with their presence. Some complain of weak bites from the seven-spotted ladybug.
Why is the ladybug called that?
The bizarre coloring became the basis for giving the insect scientific name ladybug. Among the people, a bug with bizarre inclusions is called differently. Cute nicknames indicate that people feel sympathy for this insect. For example, in the sunny Czech Republic and Slovenia it is called the “sun”, in prosperous Switzerland and Germany - the “bug of the Virgin Mary”, Latin American residents - the “cow of St. Anthony”.
It is still not known what origins Russian name this beautiful "bug of the Virgin Mary". Some scientists argue that this is due to the ability of a bright bug to secrete hemolymph ("milk") during the danger, with which they scare away predators. And “God’s” means harmless, gentle.
According to others, the insect was named so because it copes well with aphids, with its sticky secretions, thereby helping to preserve the crop.
Multi-colored bugs bring undoubted benefits. You can attract bright insects to the garden, if you can’t attract them yourself, then you can buy in a store and bring them to your site. Now many environmental companies are breeding these cute bugs, so it will not be difficult to order them and bring them to your garden, where they plant them on a prepared lawn.
The body of a ladybug has the shape of a hemisphere. It is flat at the bottom and strongly convex at the top. The size of this insect can range from 4 to 10 mm. The color of the Ladybug depends on its type - it can be from plain to very colorful. In total, more than 4,000 species of ladybug insects are distinguished. The most common color is a red back with black dots, which can be from 2 to 22. The ladybug has six legs, two antennae, two big eyes, two wings and two elytra that protect the main wings from damage on the ground when the ladybug is not flying.
In young individuals, the color is brighter. It fades with age. Ladybugs' defense is a yellow, poisonous, foul-smelling liquid that they release when threatened.
Family: Ladybugs
Class: Insects
Order: Coleoptera
Type: Arthropod
Kingdom: Animals
Domain: Eukaryotes
Where does the ladybug live?
The ladybug insect is distributed throughout the world and such an insect can be found on all continents of the planet, except for Antarctica. Preferred places are glades, meadows with grassy vegetation. But they can also be found in forests.
What does a ladybug eat?
Most of the representatives of ladybugs are predators, and only a few species are herbivorous, which can only feed on certain types of plants. Predators do eat small insects, such as aphids, whiteflies, spider mites, can sometimes even attack caterpillars. Also eaten, not only these insects, but their eggs and larvae.
Lifestyle
Ladybugs live mostly alone. In the warm season, they lead an active lifestyle, and in the cold season, on the contrary, they gather in groups and spend the winter under foliage or under stones, falling into hibernation. In this case, the number of groups can reach large sizes, and all insects are tightly pressed against each other. The life span of ladybugs ranges from a few months to 2 years.
reproduction
Ladybugs breed several times a year. The female lays 200 to 1,500 yellow eggs near aphids or other ladybug food to provide food for her larvae.
Ladybug larvae have an elongated body, more often gray color, and develop from several weeks to 3 months. Like their parents, the larvae eat a lot and are quite mobile.
Insect The ladybug is considered a beneficial insect to humans, as it eats harmful insects that can harm crops. In many names of these insects in other languages of the world, there is a definition of divinity: “God's cattle”, “God's sheep”, “Ladybugs”, etc.
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The botanical name for this colorful insect is Coccinellidae. The beetle differs from most garden inhabitants in an attractive appearance. At the sight of it, a person does not have an instinctive desire to crush or slam, and even the name indicates a loyal attitude. And rightly so, because adults eat garden pests. But this is not all that ladybugs eat: there are also herbivores among them.
Insect characteristic
There is no consensus on the origin of the name. Interestingly, on different languages it means only good things, such as a calf, a sheep, the sun, a red-bearded grandfather. The length of the cow's body ranges from 4 mm to 1 cm. The body is elongated-oval or almost round. The back is very convex, the abdomen is flattened. Hairs grow on the lower surface of the body, but not in all species. The body is divided into such parts:
- abdomen;
- chest, including 3 sections;
- head;
- pronotum;
- 6 paws;
- elytra;
- wings.
The structure of the pronotum is transverse, with a notch in the anterior part. The head is fixed and small, the eyes are very large relative to the body, bulging. Movable antennae consist of 8-10 segments. Spots are often present on the anterior margin of the pronotum, as well as on the head. Color type is different different types, and there are beetles with a plain back.
It is impossible to say unequivocally which group of insects the ladybug belongs to, because among its species there are predators, phytophages and omnivores.
The middle and front of the chest are extended across the body, and the back is almost square. All paws of the beetle are of medium length and look proportional in relation to the body. Each limb consists of one hidden and three explicit segments. An adult individual moves at high speed, using blades of grass, leaves, soil and other surfaces as a support. The abdomen is divided into 6 segments, covered with rigid semirings (sternites).
The hind wings are designed for flight, and the front wings have evolved into elytra during evolution. Their task is to cover the main pair while the beetle does not fly, but crawls. From birds and small animals that feed on insects, beetles defend themselves by releasing a poisonous liquid with a nasty pungent odor. The bright color also contributes to the fact that larger insects, as well as birds, are afraid to taste it. Color options:
- dark purple;
- brown;
- bright burgundy;
- brown;
- dark orange and others.
The spots are most often black, gray-white, reddish-brown or saturated. They can be round, square or shapeless. In some species, females and males have a different pattern.
Common types
The family to which the brightly colored beetle belongs includes 7 subfamilies and about 4 thousand species. Several of them are found in the gardens of our country, the rest are more or less common on different continents. Varieties of greatest interest to gardeners:
Habitat
The cow lives in all climatic zones and on every continent except Antarctica. The beetle cannot survive only where all year round holding on subzero temperature. For example, it is not high in the mountains, where snow lies all the time. Countries with the most species: Norway, Iceland, Sweden, Denmark, France, Poland, Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Japan, Pakistan, Mongolia, India, Korea, China.
More often, the insect settles on crops covered with aphids, but sometimes it chooses reeds, sedges and young reeds as habitats. There are species that prefer to settle in field plants. Some prefer the shores of reservoirs, others need a shady, but not waterlogged area.
For most of their lives, insects live in isolation. You can see many individuals together only during wintering, migration or mating season. Although the beetle tolerates cold, it is a heat-loving insect. In the warm season, it prefers the climate of temperate latitudes, and during the cold season, some subspecies move to other countries. Life expectancy in such species reaches 2 years, and with a lack of nutrition - even less.
There are sedentary insects that gather in colonies of up to 40 million for the winter. One such community can weigh 2-3 tons. Hiding from the cold and huddled together, insects survive severe frosts. During the winter, many die, but the main part of the colony comes out of hibernation in the spring. Finding where ladybugs winter in the garden is not difficult: they usually choose places between stones, plant debris, and foliage.
Food in the wild
Under natural conditions, insects feed various types aphids. This pest is dangerous for both cultivated and wild herbs, trees and shrubs. A beetle with bright dots is a real helper for gardeners. By destroying the pest colonies, it makes it possible to use pesticides and insecticides in smaller quantities, and sometimes do without chemistry at all. Except aphids, everything is food insects that do not have a hard chitinous shell:
- worms;
- psyllids;
- scale insects;
- ticks.
If, for some reason, the population of cows in a particular region decreases greatly, the pests begin to multiply intensively, since the deterrent factor disappears. In this case, mass destruction of crops occurs. If you do not take action in time, you can be left without a crop of many crops. Relationships between species are of great importance for biological system and don't forget about it.
The natural balance can also be disturbed for other reasons, as happened in the countries of Europe. By chance, a fluted mealybug was brought in, and the number beneficial insects proved insufficient to cope with the pest. At home, in Australia, this species does not harm cultivated plants, since there are quite a lot of rhodolia - cows with sizes no larger than a match head. Scientists urgently had to import rhodolia from Australia. This measure helped save the orange orchards.
Of those species that feed on both plants and insects, three most common in Russia:
- Pointless. An omnivorous insect that eats both pests and sweet clover, alfalfa, clover and some other herbs.
- Coccinellid twenty-eight-spotted. It eats aphids, mites, scale insects, worms, as well as planting cucumbers, potatoes, and tomatoes. Often found in the Far East.
- Alfalfa. It feeds on garden pests, alfalfa and sugar beet leaves.
Larvae and adults use the same food, but in different quantities. For 3 weeks, the larva eats up to 7 thousand aphids, and the adult cow - several times more. In turn, the volume of food consumed by herbivorous insects is several times higher than that consumed by a predator cow.
Diet at home
A beneficial insect can get into the house by accident, for example, often people bring it on clothes or with crops. It also happens that the beetle sneaks into the dwelling, fleeing the cold and hunger. An adult can survive in a house if it is fed and provided with calm conditions. The best food for a beetle is spider mite or aphids, but if there are no pests on the flowers, you should not specifically breed them. Here's what ladybugs eat at home:
- natural honey diluted in water;
- sweetened water;
- slices of raisins, bean, pea, tomato, cucumber leaves (suitable for phytophages).
It is interesting for children to watch how the bug eats. In the first days after the insect enters the house, it needs to be fed, and then no longer. You should find a cool place for the cow and put it there. The right temperature for a match is between window frames. There, the beetles can sleep peacefully until spring. In the house, the insect will not bring any harm, and in the spring it can be released into the garden.
It is important to know: both insectivorous and herbivorous cows are useful for the ecosystem, and you should not destroy them unnecessarily. The child should also be explained that killing insects is bad.
Reproduction and life cycle
At the age of 3-6 months, the beetles become sexually mature. Mating begins in the spring, shortly after emerging from hibernation. The female secretes a liquid, the smell of which attracts males. Beetles choose a place for eggs where there are aphid colonies in order to provide offspring with food. The clutch usually contains 400 oval-shaped eggs, orange, yellow or white.
In 10-15 days, the ladybug develops into a larva. Juveniles have the same coloration as adults. First, they feed on the shell of the eggs from which they hatch, as well as dead embryos. After a few days, they begin to eat aphids, and after 5-7 weeks they pupate. Part of the cover of the larva is preserved, and with these remnants the pupa is attached to the leaf. The last stage is the formation of all parts of the body, after which the beetles hatch. Takovo short description life cycle.
Thanks to the voracity of larvae and adult cows, farmers in many countries of the world can get by with fewer chemical treatments or not use insecticides at all. interesting way field processing - spraying of adult insects from airplanes and helicopters. For this, ladybugs are bred on special farms. Thus, most species are only beneficial. Bright insects that damage crops live mostly in countries with a tropical and subtropical climate, and are rare in Russia.
