What do ladybugs eat at home? Ladybugs: description of what they eat at home, interesting facts

Russian Federation must immediately withdraw its troops from certain areas of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions.

The US State Department notes that last month fighting in regions of Donbass not controlled by the central government has intensified, which has provoked an increase in casualties among civilians.

A police operation will take place in Donbass

(News from Mariupol and the region)

To restore constitutional control in the Donbass, several thousand Ukrainian law enforcement officers will be enough, head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Arsen Avakov is sure. There is no need to attract forty thousand peacekeepers, because the deployment of a peacekeeping contingent is challenging task from a legislative point of view.

The German minister visited the combat zone

(News from Mariupol and the region)

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas visited the frontline city of Mariupol, Donetsk region. This is reported on official page V social network his Ukrainian colleague Pavel Klimkin. As Klimkin noted, main goal meeting is communication with local residents and analysis of the situation in the so-called “gray zone”.

Poroshenko hopes for the deployment of peacekeeping troops

(News from Mariupol and the region)

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko expressed hope for the speedy deployment of peacekeeping troops to certain areas of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions. His colleague Frank-Walter Steinmeier closely follows the latest events in eastern Ukraine, and therefore has his own options for ending the armed conflict there.

Matios spoke about the crimes of military personnel

(News from Mariupol and the region)

Military personnel should not be idealized, notes military prosecutor Anatoly Matios. The crime rate among them remains consistently high, although the military prosecutor's office is actively combating these manifestations. The chief military prosecutor of Ukraine spoke about this at a conference in Kharkov on reforming military justice.

Ladybugs interesting facts...

How ladybugs prepare for winter

When the cold period sets in, ladybugs prepare for winter and begin to look for a suitable place for this. They can be seen in some places in large (even huge) quantities.

They can even fly around the city, looking for a place to winter.
They most often hide under fallen leaves, as it is warmer there.
In general, ladybugs overwinter in clusters under dry leaves, bark, stones, in crevices, and forest belts, often forming simply enormous clusters.

How long do ladybugs live?

Depending on the availability of food, these insects live from several months to a year, and very rarely - up to two years. Young individuals are always distinguished by their bright coloring, which gradually fades with age, while remaining a fairly convincing warning for predators who want to encroach on the life of the insect.

What do ladybugs eat?

Ladybugs are very useful: both they and their larvae feed exclusively on aphids and their sweetish secretions; some prefer spider mites.

Types of ladybugs

There are more than 4,000 known species of ladybugs, which are distributed in all parts of the world. Some of them are found on all plants: trees, shrubs or grasses that only have aphids; others only hold on field herbs; still others - in meadows adjacent to streams; fourth - only on trees; finally, some species live on reeds and other aquatic plants; the latter are distinguished by longer legs, which help them stay on plants that bend easily from the wind. The most common species is the seven-spotted ladybug (Coccinella septempunctata). It is 7-8 mm in length. Its chest shield is black with a whitish spot in the front corner; red elytra with 7 black dots, very common in Europe, North Africa and in Asia.

The Asian ladybug or Harlequin (Harmonia axyridis) historically lived in Asia, as its name suggests. As you know, ladybugs are predators, and their main food is aphids, which are pests. The Asian ladybug is particularly voracious, which was the reason why people specifically settled it in Europe and North America to combat agricultural pests. It took root well in new places and began to displace indigenous species.

The Asian ladybird species includes 11 varieties (intraspecific rank below subspecies).

Representatives of the variety differ in color; they can have a yellow or black shell with dots various colors. The number of points can also be different: from 2 to 19.

Life cycle of the Asian ladybug

The life cycle of the Asian ladybug is no different from life cycle other types of ladybugs.

We found photographs online describing the life cycle of a yellow Asian ladybug with 19 black dots. Here is a photo of an adult:

The female ladybug lays eggs on plants. She always does this near the aphid colony, so she provides the offspring with a supply of food.

The eggs have an oblong oval shape with slightly narrowed tops.

After 1-2 weeks, larvae emerge from the eggs, which bear little resemblance to adult ladybugs. Here's a photo of the larva:

In the first days of the larval stage of the life cycle, young individuals eat the shell of the egg from which they hatched, as well as neighboring unfertilized eggs and eggs with a dead embryo. Having grown stronger, the larvae go in search of aphids.

The larval stage of the ladybug life cycle usually lasts 5-6 weeks, sometimes more or less than a week. Then the larva pupates, that is, turns into a pupa.

After about a week, an adult emerges from the pupa, which is the ladybug that we are all accustomed to seeing.

Looks also: photo of ladybugs.

See also: how many black dots are on the elytra of a ladybug.

Ladybug Beetles and the Environment

Lady lady beetles are found throughout the growing season. Their active activity and appearance on the soil surface or on plants is timed to coincide with the transition of average daily temperatures over +50C. However, during this period the insects are still in their wintering areas.

In the forest-steppe zone in the third ten days of April, the average daily temperature transitions through +100C. At this time, some of the beetles fly from their wintering grounds to the soils of winter, perennial grasses, and virgin areas.

In the first ten days of May, the average daily air temperature rises to 12.40C, and most of the lady beetles migrate to various plant groups. Of these, the most remarkable are: bush edges, water meadows, perennial herbs, grain crops, forest belts of birch plantations.

An increase in the average daily temperature to 14.40C in the second ten days of May increases activity and extra food lady beetles. In the second ten days of May they begin to lay eggs, and by the end of the third ten days the larvae emerge from the eggs. At the end of May - the first ten days of June, the larvae emerge, i.e. beetles of the overwintered generation begin to die off, and their numbers sharply decrease. By the end of the third ten days of June, the larvae, having passed the pupal stage, manage to turn into adult beetles of the first generation. At the end of June - beginning of July, the number of beetles in hayfields sharply decreases due to the removal of green mass. The second generation of the seven-spot ladybird appears in the second half of August, and the beetles go to winter. You can observe the mass reproduction of the seven-spotted ladybird in the first generation. In the third ten days of June it was observed 20-50 times more larvae and beetles than in normal years. This influenced the increased number of beetles that left for the winter. On second-year clover crops, beetles are found during 7-8 spring-summer decades, i.e. from the second ten days of April until harvesting

Beetles in other plant groups were captured to a lesser extent. Thus, in an alfalfa field of the second year of life, beetles were collected for six decades, and in a barley field and the edge of a bush - only in the second decade of July.

The ladybug's body shape is round and strongly convex. The color is bright, shiny, as if “varnished”. Their tarsi consist of four segments, but seem to be three-segmented, since their third segment is very small and inconspicuous. The small head is strongly retracted into the prothorax.

The bright color warns of their inedibility. From special pores in the joints of the legs, the beetle releases orange droplets of pungent hemolymph, which has an unpleasant odor.

Ladybug larvae live openly on plants. They are very mobile and are usually painted in a dark, often dirty green color with yellow or red patterns. Their body often bears various outgrowths, giving the larva a bizarre shape. Even more strange are the larvae, hidden under a cap of loose waxy secretions, reminiscent of the secretions of mealybugs.

Name on the wings

Sometimes they think: how many dots a cow has on her wings means how old she is. This belief is especially widespread among children. But this is not true. The dots do not indicate age, but what species many of the cows belong to. A cow with two points is called two-point, with five - five-point, with seven - seven-point. These three cows are especially common among us. They can be found anywhere: in fields, meadows, forests, gardens and orchards. But there are others: ten-point, eleven-point, twelve-point, etc.

There are so many different cows! Now, when you see a cow, try and count how many dots it has, and you will find out what species it belongs to. In total, there are more than four thousand species of cows in the world!

These beetles are not all red. There are yellow, brown, different shades, bronze... But all are spotted: speckled, polka dots, with black and whitish squares - like a chessboard, with stains - like marble.

Eat folk signs related to ladybug. If the caught ladybug flies away, then the weather will be clear and sunny, but if it lands on the ground, it will rain.

Why are these insects called cows?

And they are called cows because they can secrete “milk”, although not white, but orange.

Of course, in reality this is not “milk” at all, but the blood is acrid and smells unpleasant. Because of it, neither birds nor lizards eat cows. And spiders, if cows get caught in their webs, rush to get rid of the tasteless prey - they break the threads and free the beetles. The cows are brightly colored to warn enemies: “We are inedible! Dont touch!"

Migratory beetles

Entomologists have no doubt that ladybugs, like many butterflies and dragonflies, undertake long journeys in spring and autumn. Their migratory flocks have been seen over different countries in Europe, Africa, Asia and America. One day they littered the streets of London like cereal. In August 1952, England was invaded from somewhere far away by a colossal swarm of ladybugs. Many beetles, as soon as they saw the shore above them, fell exhausted onto the rocks near the sea. The strait soon drowned them, and long after that the sea was colored near the shore with a reddish border of millions of beetles that had died in the waves. This strip stretched forty miles along the coast. Experts examined the beetles that died along the shore and decided that these were

The most common seven-spotted ladybugs.

Infestations of ladybugs have long been known to people. There are many stories about them in ancient books. One French scientist came across an old chapel in the mountains. It seemed to be made of red coral, because it was completely covered with beetles. It turns out that from time to time beetles gather in flocks and fly somewhere. Where? It turns out that at the end of summer - beginning of autumn, cows fly to winter. And in the spring and early summer they return. As if they were not beetles, but migratory birds.

In mid-summer you can also see flocks of cows. They wander in search of food - they look for places where there are a lot of aphids. Cows most often fly high, so that they are not visible from the ground. One scientist, in order to find out where the beetles were going, had to chase them in a small plane. If strong wind or rain interfere with movement, or the beetles have to fly over water for a long time, they get tired and try to land at the first opportunity to rest. That is why they are so often found on the banks of rivers, seas and lakes. But sometimes beetles simply end up in the sea by misfortune; a cruel wind leads them astray. It takes you to your death, sometimes even into the open ocean.

Where do cows spend the winter?

Seven-spotted ladybugs congregate in large groups, guided by the smell, and flock to the edge of the forest. You can find them here in early spring when the snow melts. Look under last year's fallen leaves and you will see seven-spotted ladybugs. This is why you should not burn dry grass at the edge of the forest in the spring. Sometimes you walk through a burnt area, look at your feet, and suddenly see the red wing covers of a ladybug. Yes, there is a whole cemetery of beetles - they died at their wintering place.

Ladybugs do not always gather in large groups for the winter. Under the bark of old stumps you can find small groups or single ladybugs. From their own winter apartments the cows fly out late spring, when aphids appear on the foliage, their favorite treat.

Ladybug development

Yellow shiny eggs are glued in clusters on the bottom of the leaves. After a few days they will become almost transparent. And inside each one you can see a small larva. She fidgets, fumbles around there - she wants to get out. And finally the testicle bursts. The larva begins to crawl out of it, first its head sticks out, then its chest, then its legs. But it's not so easy to get out of the egg! It will take a lot of time before the larva, either resting or working hard again, is completely freed.

This is how the first life of the ladybug begins. The larva does not look like a beetle at all. The ladybug larva is seven-spotted, 3-15 mm long, colored in predominant colors. bright hues. The head has sinuous frontal sutures that begin directly on its posterior edge or extend from the short middle longitudinal suture. Mandibles with 1-2 apical teeth. On the prothorax there are two scutes located on top, i.e. one shield on its right and left halves. These scutes are divided into two parts by a membranous stripe, so on the prothorax the number of scutes increases to four. The antennae are three-segmented. Body segments with various projections, projections, convex areas and setae.

Spreading its long legs, moving its jaws, the larva runs along the leaves, along the stems, fumbles from right to left, arching its body. She is no longer yellowish, not light, but gray with red, orange, and white spots all over her body.

How do larvae grow? Ladybug larvae do not grow gradually, but rather in spurts. This is due to the properties of the “skins”, i.e. outer cover of the larvae. The outer cover is not able to stretch. Larvae

They molt and shed their skins until new skins harden and the larvae grow. This happens several times in a row. And if you watch the larvae during their growth, you can observe their molting. You can even calculate the daily diet of each larva. This is done very simply. Cow eggs are taken and placed in a certain vessel. After hatching, the larvae must be provided with a sufficient number of aphids. So, for the full development of the larvae, about 1000 aphids are needed. The daily diet of an adult larva consists of 60-100 adult aphids or 300 larvae. The experiment showed that when the larvae are limited in food, they develop slowly, and with a sharp and prolonged restriction, they develop extremely slowly, completely stop developing, become completely weak, become melancholic, and if they are kept in such limited conditions in the future, this will lead to their imminent death. The larva lives for three weeks. This is the period of life of this amazing and, undoubtedly, beautiful larva of the seven-spotted ladybug. What will be next? Where will this larva go? Somewhere under a leaf, on the bark, on a grass stem, it will hang. And it hangs not somehow, but upside down. Thus, it attaches itself to various objects with the back side of its body. In this position the larva freezes. One day hangs, then another... It is extremely interesting to watch the last molt of a ladybug in the larval stage. This latest molt is not like the previous ones that happened before. It is interesting for its originality. At the initial stage of molting, the skin on the back of the hanging larva bursts, then gradually, slowly begins to creep upward, i.e. to the rear end of the body, gathering like an accordion.

And a milky white pupa becomes visible. Yes, yes, this is already a pupa, which means the second life of the ladybug begins - the life of a pupa.

Life of a doll

It's strange, this life of a doll. After all, the pupa is a completely motionless stage of development, without movement through bushes and grass, without travel, without hunting exploits and without any food at all. It seems that this motionless doll is completely lifeless. But anyone who thinks so is deeply mistaken. Do not touch such a doll under any circumstances; you can look at it, but do not touch it. After all, there is life in it - the life of a new creature, and although it does not manifest itself in anything now, in a week or two a wonderful bug will come out of it. As it hangs like this, the pupa darkens and becomes covered with yellow, orange, and black spots. And then the “skin” of the doll burst. The beetle was born. The ladybug has begun her third life!

True, this young beetle does not look much like a cow. His elytra are completely light, and there is not a single dot on them. The beetle sits and does not move. It’s interesting to watch him at this time - you just need to be patient. And you will need a lot of it, given that the formation of a ladybug is taking place long time. You will have to sit near the cow for hours. It may seem like an infinity, and that’s why no one can do it. Sometimes a whole day will pass before the beetle becomes the way we are used to seeing it.

Slowly, slowly, dark dots appear on his pale body. Gradually, the elytra themselves become brighter. But if the “failed beetle” is frightened, its color changes. The beetle becomes brightly colored. This is the long and by no means easy path of development of the seven-spotted ladybug.

Practical meaning of ladybug

Mincing with black legs, the ladybug hastily crawls up the stem. He climbs onto the first leaf he encounters on the road, examines it, looking for aphids. Of course, the prey is not always caught right away. Then the hunter climbs to the next leaf. Then even higher, even higher... It happens that you are completely unlucky. Ladybugs only look so peaceful. In fact, they are predators.

Ladybugs are very beneficial insects. They save gardens from aphids. Aphids are famous for their fertility. Some cows eat 6-10 aphids a day. According to scientists, a beetle can eat four thousand aphids in its life. People have long understood that ladybugs are excellent helpers in the struggle for the harvest. They even began to transport beetles from one region to another, from country to country, from continent to continent.

American gardeners began to catch ladybugs in the fall and release them into orange plantations in the spring. Three weeks later we haven't seen any of them. Where and why did they fly? Every autumn they fly to the mountains. There, under stones, under fallen leaves, in dry pine needles, they spend the winter. Many thousands gather. In the spring they wake up and fly to the valley. So this is why ladybugs released in the spring scatter in all directions: instinct prompts this.

The botanical name of this colorful insect is Coccinellidae. The beetle differs from most garden inhabitants in its attractive appearance. When a person sees it, there is no instinctive desire to crush or slam it, and even the name indicates a loyal attitude. And rightly so, because adults feed garden pests. But that's not all that ladybugs eat: there are also herbivores among them.

Characteristics of an insect

There is no consensus on the origin of the name. It's interesting that on different languages it means only good things, for example, little calf, little lamb, sunshine, red-bearded grandfather. The body length of the cow varies from 4 mm to 1 cm. The body is elongated-oval or almost round shape. 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 the following parts:

abdomen;
chest, including 3 sections;
head;
pronotum;
6 legs;
elytra;
wings.

The structure of the pronotum is transverse; there is a notch in the anterior part. The head is motionless and small, the eyes are very large relative to the body, convex. Movable antennae consist of 8-10 segments. There are often spots on the anterior edge of the pronotum, as well as on the head. The color type differs different types, and there are also beetles with a monochromatic back.

It is impossible to say unambiguously which group of insects the ladybug belongs to, because among its species there are predators, phytophages and omnivores.

The middle and front parts of the chest are extended across the body, and the back part is almost square. All the beetle's legs are of medium length and look proportional in relation to the body. Each limb consists of one hidden and three obvious segments. The adult moves at high speed, using blades of grass, leaves, soil and other surfaces as support. The abdomen is divided into 6 segments covered with hard semirings (sternites).

The hind wings are designed for flight, and the front wings, in the process of evolution, developed into elytra. Their task is to cover the main pair while the beetle crawls rather than flies. Beetles protect themselves from birds and small animals that feed on insects by releasing a poisonous liquid with a nasty, pungent odor. The bright color also makes larger insects, as well as birds, afraid to taste it. Color options:

dark purple;
brown;
bright burgundy;
brown;
dark orange and others.

The spots are most often black, gray-white, red-red or rich in color. They can be round, square or shapeless. In some species, females and males have different patterns.

Common types

The family to which the brightly colored beetle belongs has 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 everyone climatic zones and on every continent except Antarctica. A beetle cannot survive only where all year round holds on subzero temperature. For example, it is not high in the mountains, where there is snow all the time. Countries with the most species: Norway, Iceland, Sweden, Denmark, France, Poland, the 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 a habitat. There are species that prefer to settle field plants. Some prefer the banks of reservoirs, others need a shady, but not waterlogged area.

Insects live separately for most of their lives. 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 climates of temperate latitudes, and during cold weather, some subspecies move to other countries. The life expectancy of 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. Having taken refuge from the cold and huddled together, insects survive severe frosts. During the winter, many die, but the main part of the colony emerges from hibernation in the spring. It is not difficult to find where ladybugs hibernate in the garden: they usually choose places between stones, plant debris, and foliage.

Eating in the wild

IN natural conditions insects eat various types aphids. This pest poses a threat to both cultivated and wild grasses, trees and shrubs. The beetle with bright dots is a real helper for gardeners. By destroying pest colonies, it makes it possible to use pesticides and insecticides in smaller quantities, and sometimes even do without chemicals. Except for aphids, everything is food insects that do not have a hard chitinous shell:

scale insects;
psyllids;
scale insects;
ticks.

If in a particular region the population of ladybugs decreases greatly for some reason, the pests begin to multiply intensively, as the deterrent disappears. In this case, mass destruction of crops occurs. If measures are not taken in time, you may be left without the harvest of many agricultural crops. Relationships between species are of great importance to biological system, and don’t forget about it.

The natural balance can be disrupted for other reasons, as happened in European countries. By accident, the grooved scale insect was introduced, and the number of beneficial insects turned out to be insufficient to cope with the pest. In its homeland, Australia, this species does not harm cultivated plants, since there are quite a lot of rhodolia - cows 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, in Russia the three most common:

Pointless. An omnivorous insect that eats both pests and sweet clover, alfalfa, clover and some other herbs.
Coccinellid twenty-eight point. Eats aphids, mites, scale insects, scale insects, as well as plantings of 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 for food, but in different quantities. In 3 weeks, the larva eats up to 7 thousand aphids, and an adult ladybug eats several times more. In turn, the volume of food consumed by a herbivorous insect is several times greater than that consumed by a predator ladybird.

Diet at home

A beneficial insect can get into the house by accident, for example, people often bring it on clothes or with crops. It also happens that a beetle sneaks into a home to escape cold and hunger. An adult can survive in the house if it is fed and provided with a calm environment. Best food for a beetle - spider mites or aphids, but if there are no pests on the flowers, there is no need to breed them on purpose. This is what ladybugs eat at home:

natural honey diluted in water;
sweetened water;
pieces of raisins, bean leaves, peas, tomato, cucumber (suitable for phytophages).

It can be interesting for children to watch a bug eat. In the first days after an 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 appropriate temperature for a match is between window frames. There the beetles can sleep peacefully until spring. The insect will not cause any harm in the house, and in the spring it can be released into the garden.

It is important to know: both insectivorous and herbivorous ladybugs 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 colonies of aphids in order to provide the offspring with food. There are usually 400 eggs in a clutch oval shape, 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 hatched, as well as on dead embryos. After a few days they begin to eat aphids, and after 5-7 weeks they pupate. Part of the larval cover is retained, and with these remains the pupa is attached to the leaf. The last stage is the formation of all body parts, after which the beetles hatch. That's how it is short description life cycle.

Thanks to the gluttony of larvae and adult ladybugs, farmers in many countries around the world can make do with fewer chemical treatments or not use insecticides at all. Interesting way processing fields - spraying adult insects from airplanes and helicopters. For this purpose, ladybugs are bred on special farms. Thus, most species only bring benefits. Bright insects that damage agricultural crops live mostly in countries with tropical and subtropical climates, and are rare in Russia.

Ladybugs are among the most recognizable insects on the planet. They deserve this thanks to their bright colors. By drawing attention to their life activities, they showed that they are simply necessary for people, especially now, and here’s why.

Where does it live and what does it eat?

The climate-unpretentious creature has spread throughout the world, with the exception of permafrost zones. These insects were even imported into some states of America specifically for 3 years, and all because they are unsurpassed assistants in pest control. Despite his friendly appearance, cows are merciless predators. The main delicacy for them is aphids. During its not very long life (up to 2 years), each specimen eats more than 1000 of them, but the diet does not end there. Ladybugs also feed spider mites, scale insects, whiteflies, scale insects, psyllids and their larvae, sometimes even attack caterpillars and butterflies. This is the main value of these beetles. Fields under such protection do not require processing chemicals, which means the harvest will be environmentally friendly, which is very much in demand nowadays.

There are a few species of herbivorous ladybugs that feed only on certain plants, and some of them happily eat crops of potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers and others vegetable crops. They are found in the Far East and Central Asia. But these are isolated cases, the vast majority bring only benefits.

It turns out that a ladybug can feel great even at home. To do this, it is enough to equip her own house and provide food. A plastic container or jar can serve as a shelter, the main thing is that there is good ventilation and humidified air (sometimes spray water inside). Place grass and branches at the bottom, prevent mold from appearing, to do this, constantly renew them. You can't hit straight Sun rays, this will lead to death. In winter, it usually hibernates and does not require special care.

What to feed

In captivity, when it is not possible to find “live” food, you can offer sweets:

fresh fruits and candied fruits
dried fruits
sugar
jam
honey

No need to leave a large number of food, but there should be water constantly, to do this, pour a few drops into bottle cap or wet a cotton pad.

Although this insect can live in captivity, you still shouldn’t take away its right to freedom, it is designed to bring benefits to humans, so be it.

The ladybug is a small arthropod insect belonging to the order Coleoptera. Few people know how many species there are of the ladybug, the number of their species exceeds 5000, 221 live in the post-Soviet space. The habitat of these insects is very diverse, some of them are found in nature on trees, shrubs and grasses, others only on trees, others live only on grass, the fourth - on aquatic plants.

Where did the name come from?

In Latin, in science, ladybugs are called coccineus. Translated, this means scarlet. This is what these creatures were called for their bright colors. People in different countries came up with it all sorts of other nicknames that characterize these insects:

In Russia, according to legend, the first part of the name comes from the fact that in places where there are a large number of these beetles, there is always an excellent harvest. They are called “cows” due to the milk-like liquid- cantharidin. It is poisonous to insects, which saves the lives of ladybugs in times of danger.

What do these creatures look like?

Even a child can describe a ladybug. It is remembered by its bright color. There are:

The insect is small in size - up to 10 mm. Form convex, rounded.

The body structure is divided into the following parts:

head;
pronotum;
breast.

The latter consists of three sections. These include paws- there are six of them; abdomen and wings With elytra.

These beetles fly using two wings which are behind. The front ones are rigid, their main function is to protect those with the help of which ladybugs fly. They have black dots or spots, depending on their type. These patterns also differentiate the sex of insects.

Habitat of ladybugs

You can meet them everywhere, on all continents. Beetles do not survive only in the eternal snow. The only place where these creatures are not found is Antarctica.

They settle depending on the species. Some people need expanses of water where they can choose sedge or cane. Other varieties are preferred field living conditions.

Types of ladybugs

All their diversity is divided into seven subfamilies, each of which consists of genera. The most common ones of interest are:

Each species is special, has its own differences and characteristics. These are just a few of them, often found or of interest in European countries.

Living conditions, wintering

These insects lead an isolated lifestyle. Those species that remain for the winter gather in flocks. In this case, their number can reach 40 million insects. How do ladybugs overwinter? During the cold season looking for a safe shelter. It could be:

rock collapses;
foliage of evergreen trees;
fallen bark.

Ladybugs have a short life no more than a year. Its duration increases if there is sufficient quantity food. If it is absent or small, then the lifespan of these insects is reduced. for a few months.

What does a ladybug eat?

Despite their small size and cute appearance, these mammals are mainly predators. Among them there are few species that are herbivores. Their main food is aphids and mites. Predators eat small caterpillars, butterfly eggs, pupae other insects. In a hungry year they eat Colorado beetle larvae.

Herbivorous species These creatures eat different food. What do ladybugs eat at home? It can be mushroom mycelium, flower pollen, leaves, also eats berries and fruits various plants.

Benefits of ladybugs

In many countries they even began to be specially bred, because their benefits are in gardens, on personal plots huge. Aphids are considered the most common pest in land, and godforgings eat them in large quantities. One adult is capable eat 100 harmful creatures per day. However, only predators bring benefit.

Herbivorous species may destroy some seed crops. They eat tomatoes, sugar beets, potatoes, cucumbers.

Also some Interesting Facts You can learn about the ladybug from the video.

IN various countries This bug is called differently, but its name always reveals the deep respect of the people for the small insect. In England it is called “lady beetle”, in Ukraine - “sun”, and in Russia and, by the way, in France too - “ladybug”. Why a cow? Probably because, when a bug gets scared, it secretes hemolymph from the joints of its legs, a whitish substance similar in appearance (but not in taste!) to milk. And they call her God's because of that great benefit which it brings to our gardens, vineyards and vegetable gardens. Have you ever wondered what ladybugs eat?

Here she is slowly crawling along a blade of grass: red, like half of a varnished ball, with seven black dots on her wings... Stop! In fact, there are about four and a half thousand species of ladybugs around the world. And they are not only red seven-pointed, but also yellow, white, black, orange. They are found on all continents, wherever there is at least some vegetation. There is a meadow and field ladybug, one that lives in trees, and even one that likes to live on aquatic plants. But the gastronomic preferences of the entire vast kingdom of “suns” are almost the same - these are soft insects.

There are, of course, harmful “suns”, and even an ordinary ladybug on a hot summer day would not mind quenching its thirst by chewing a juicy leaf. However, such harm is incomparable to the benefits that the bug brings to farmers. To trace what a ladybug eats, you need to arm yourself with a magnifying glass. It’s hard to believe that this cute bug is a terrible and voracious predator, because its movement speed is low and it does not have capture weapons, like, for example, mantises. But the “sun” doesn’t need this, because its prey is even slower and completely defenseless.

What do ladybugs eat in winter? This migratory insect with the first night frosts it begins to migrate to the mountains. There it crawls into cracks and crevices of rocks. So many of them flock to their wintering sites that they cover the stones with a red pattern. Sometimes up to several million individuals accumulate in one place. In cramped spaces, but don’t be offended: the more bugs crammed into a tiny gap, the greater the chance of surviving the severe mountain frosts. As soon as the big sun begins to warm the stones, the little “suns” awaken from hibernation and fly out. Having eaten a little on the young grass, the bugs lay eggs not far from a large colony of aphids in order to provide food for the barely hatched offspring. The number of eggs directly depends on the mother's diet. There are from two hundred to four hundred eggs in a clutch.

After 5-8 days, small larvae emerge from them. What do ladybugs eat during their childhood, which lasts about twenty days? First, neighboring eggs, from which none have hatched yet, to stock up nutrients until the larva finds its main food - eggs, larvae or adult aphids. Moreover, in their searches, the young “suns” are very patient and methodical - after all, they do not have wings, like adults, to fly to places with better food supply, and they tirelessly, meter by meter, explore the space around them.

What do ladybugs eat at home? Ladybugs: description of what they eat at home, interesting facts

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Ladybugs interesting facts...

Life cycle of the Asian ladybug

Ladybug Beetles and the Environment

Name on the wings

Migratory beetles

The most common seven-spotted ladybugs.

Where do cows spend the winter?

Ladybug development

Life of a doll

Practical meaning of ladybug

Characteristics of an insect

Common types

Habitat

Eating in the wild

Diet at home

Reproduction and life cycle

Where does it live and what does it eat?

What to feed

Where did the name come from?

What do these creatures look like?

Habitat of ladybugs

Types of ladybugs

Living conditions, wintering

What does a ladybug eat?

Benefits of ladybugs

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