A couple of days after we found orange aphids on our Milkweed, we had a ladybug show up on one of the flower heads.
Ladybugs are natural predators of aphids and other soft-bodied insect pests. A single ladybug can eat up to 50 aphids per day!
Ladybugs go through 4 steps in their life cycle. Female Ladybugs lay their eggs on the underside of leaves, or in other hidden and protected areas. The eggs hatch into larvae that look like a black and orange miniature crocodile.
The larva starts eating, and will shed its skin a number of times as it grows. The larvae will eventually pupate and finally hatch out to become the ladybug beetle we all recognize.
We are hoping s/he brings more friends to dine on the aphids.
There are plenty to go around...
"Hurt no living thing:
Ladybird, nor butterfly,
Nor moth with dusty wing..."
~ Christina Georgina Rosetti, British poet and lyricist (1830-1894)
For more information about Lady bugs:
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