No. The term "bug" is most properly used for the group of insects that belong to the "true bugs", the order Hemiptera (or Heteroptera). Common examples of the order include squash bugs, plant bugs, and boxelder bugs. Because lady beetles are a type of beetle (Order: Coleoptera), the term lady beetle is most correct and recognized as the official common name by the Entomological Society of America.
Ladybird beetles or ladybirds are another name commonly applied to this group of beetles. This originally referred to the Ladybird, the seven-spotted lady beetle (Coccinella septempunctata), which is common in Europe. The term ladybird versus ladybug was first widely used in England where numerous negative connotations of the word bug caused it to be avoided.
How did lady beetles get their name?
In Europe, interest in the Ladybird goes back at least 500 years. The insect was commonly dedicated to the Virgin Mary and thought to have supernatural powers. These Ladybeetles of the Virgin Mary are the basis for the current name, lady beetle.
Are all lady beetles "ladies"?
No. Populations consist of equal numbers of males and females. And there is nothing lady-like about the habits of either sex.
Do lady beetles always have spots on their wings?
No. Most species are spotted. However, there are some important exceptions. For example, the smaller lady beetles that feed on mites (Stethorus), scales and aphids, (Scymnus) usually are uniformly dark. A few species are even striped.
What do lady beetles eat?
Both the adult lady beetles and the grub-stage larvae have chewing mouthparts and are considered beneficial predators of other insects. Although each type of lady beetle has some preferences on what they will eat (e.g., aphids, scales, spider mites, mealybugs, etc.), they tend to have fairly broad tastes and will feed on almost any small arthropods (insects, mites) or insect eggs they can subdue and ingest.
In general, most commonly observed lady beetles (the genera Hippodamia, Coccinella, Coleomegilla, Hyperaspis, Scymnus) feed primarily on aphids. Small lady beetles in the genus Stethorus are important predators of spider mites, although they are not commonly observed. The genera Exochamus and Chilocorus (represented by the twicestabbed lady beetle, C. Stigma) specialize in scale insects.
Although lady beetle larvae are strictly predators, adult lady beetles may occasionally supplement this diet by feeding on pollen, nectar or honeydew.
How do lady beetles develop?
Lady beetles, as all beetles, develop in a pattern known as complete metamorphosis. This involves eggs, mobile feeding-stage larvae that molt four times as they develop, transition-stage pupae that undergo changes to the final form, and ultimately the familiar adult.
As with all insects, the rate of development is greatly dependent on temperature. The egg stage typically lasts about five to seven days. Larvae complete their development in stages (instars), each separated by molting, over the course of about 10 to 14 days. The pupal stage lasts about 5 days, after which the adult emerges. During summer the entire life cycle is completed in about three to four weeks.
Most lady beetles have two to three generations annually and occur throughout the growing season. However, before irrigation many common lady beetles are thought to have had only one generation per year, synchronized with the flush of aphid populations occuring in spring.
At the end of the season or when food runs out, adult lady beetles move to winter quarters. During this period (which may last six months or more), the development of the beetle is temporarily suspended, a condition known as diapause.
How long do lady beetles live?
During the summer, adult stages of lady beetles that have multiple generations annually may live only a few weeks. However, individuals of these same species that have moved to winter shelters survive eight to 10 months or more.
Lady beetles that have only one generation per year live about one year. However, some lady beetles (Stethorus species) have been known to occasionally go into diapause and survive a second year.
Where do lady beetles go in the winter?
Lady beetles spend the winter in the adult beetle stage. In late summer or early fall, they cease feeding and seek winter cover. Piles of debris, cracks around buildings, rocks and mulch are all types of cover that lady beetles may seek. Once in this winter cover, they go into a dormant period (diapause) during which their development slows and they use little energy. In spring, they break dormancy, become active, and resume normal activities of feeding and egg production.
Why do lady beetles sometimes occur in such large groups during winter aggregations?
Several theories exist on this point. Many lady beetles tend to follow areas of higher moisture, causing them to migrate along gulleys and streams. They then assemble in open clearings, exposed to afternoon sunlight, on slopes near these high humidity sources. Ultimately, they move to nearby cover provided by fallen leaves and other debris, often concentrating in sites with higher humidity.
Other lady beetles appear to orient to prominent objects such as large rocks, peaks, or man-made constructions. With these species, aggregations occur at high elevations, often above timber line. Aggregations may occur repeatedly at the same location annually. Disruption of the topography can change aggregation sites.
Wind patterns further influence lady beetle migrations. These help to direct flights to the overwintering sites as well as to return the beetles to lower elevations in spring.
Odor also may be involved in aggregations of lady beetles. They produce a noticeable odor that may be used to attract and concentrate other members of the species.
Aggregations almost always involve a single species. Aggregation mixtures of two species are rare.
What eats lady beetles?
Lady beetles have several means of protecting themselves. Most play dead when disturbed, dropping from the plant with their legs and antennae protectively tucked into special depressions on the body. Lady beetles also exude protective fluids that are distasteful to many predators. The bright coloration of lady beetles warns birds and other vertebrates of the presence of these taste repellents.
However, lady beetles do have several insect enemies. Many predatory bugs, such as assassin bugs and stink bugs, commonly kill lady beetles. Lady beetles also are eaten by spiders and sometimes birds. Young lady beetles are sometimes cannibalistic, particularly of eggs.
What about buying lady beetles to control garden pests?
A great many outlets offer lady beetles for control of garden pests. Unfortunately, the record for these introduced pests is poor.
Essentially all lady beetles sold are the convergent lady beetle, Hippodamia convergens, that are field-collected from areas in the West Coast where mass aggregations occur. These beetles are in diapause and are not yet capable of producing eggs. They also have a dispersive behavior, which causes them to leave the site.
There are several procedures suggested to increase retention of these artificially-applied lady beetles - release on infested plants, misting with water, evening release, etc. None of these methods will substantially retain the beetles so that they will provide biological control.
More recently, changes have occurred in the distribution and marketing of field-collected lady beetles. New regulations be federal quarantine agencies require that lady beetles be held and cleaned of parasitized individuals to prevent the inadverdent distribution of lady beetle natural enemies. This process also may allow a period for the collected insects to break diapause and resume reproductive development. (One supplier is marketing lady beetles handled in this manner as Sta-Home beetles.) However, there is no evidence that even these beetles remain in significant numbers at the point of release. Of course, naturally occurring lady beetles of the same species can be very beneficial.
How can we encourage lady beetles in our garden?
Lady beetles require food for themselves and their young. The best way to encourage lady beetles is to have a source of aphids or other preferred prey for them to feed on. Since lady beetles are actively moving about and seeking food during most of the growing season, they will eventually find your garden.
Adult lady beetles may also feed on other foods, such as pollen and nectar. A garden environment that provides these is also important. Artificial foods, such as sugar-water sprays or mixtures of sugar/water/yeast, are sometimes used to retain lady beetles in a garden.
Sometimes the efforts of lady beetles are inhibited and we can take actions to eliminate these limiting factors. Ants that tend aphids and collect their honeydew often will attack and drive off lady beetles and other predators. By controlling ants, lady beetle activity can increase in many cases. Of course, use of insecticides in and around gardens also can greatly affect lady beetles, which are susceptible to many garden insecticides.