- The development cycle of ladybugs
- Preparation of the eggs
- Where to find the eggs
- What the ladybug eggs look like
- The development of the larva in the egg
Are you wondering what those little carpets of balls are that stick neatly under the sides of leaves and on tree trunks in spring? Don't remove them, because very useful, pretty and likeable garden helpers develop here: ladybugs!
Ladybugs often lay their eggs on the underside of leaves
The development cycle of ladybugs
Within the order of beetles, ladybirds form their own family that is very rich in genera and species. There are around 250 genera and 6000 species worldwide, but we only have a few hundred of them. How ladybugs live and maintain their species isn't all that different from the cycles of other beetles. With the exception of one special feature: If they want to and the conditions are favourable, they can survive not just one, but sometimes two winters!
In itself, a ladybug goes through the usual stages of development:
1 egg
2. Larva
3. Doll
4. Imago (adult beetle)
Preparation of the eggs
The ladybug year begins early, in late winter. Immediately after waking up from hibernation, they look for beetle partners to mate with. A mated female then begins laying eggs from the end of April. In total, it can lay up to 400 eggs, but this varies depending on the species. The female ladybug divides this impressive number of eggs into small groups, which it lays in close, fairly neat rows in suitable places. A clutch usually consists of 10 to 60 eggs. However, some species also lay eggs individually.
Where to find the eggs
The female searches for suitable food sources at the depositing sites, which should be immediately available to the hatching larvae for self-service. Groups of eggs can often be found on the underside of leaves and in cracks in tree bark.
Incidentally, suitable food for the larvae - and this is what accounts for their status as garden beneficials - is primarily aphids. The larvae of scale insects also grow large and strong. Where many of these plant sap suckers can be found, ladybugs will also prefer to send their larvae into life. Twenty-two-spot ladybugs also conveniently feed on powdery mildew fungi.
What the ladybug eggs look like
Ladybug eggs have relatively different appearances depending on the species. Most are oblong in shape and light yellow in color. But some are also rounder and go a little more orange or whitish. The size varies between half a millimeter and two millimeters.
The development of the larva in the egg
It takes 5 to 8 days for a ladybug larva to grow in an egg, depending on the temperature and humidity. Towards the end of the development period, the larvae can already be recognized through the thin membrane of the egg. The egg then turns gray. It takes a ladybug larva about 2 hours to work its way out of the egg. Many species have opening tools in the head, back and chest area, which are discarded after the first molt after a single use.