Ladybugs (or Lady Beetles)

But this little ladybug, fierce and ferocious (if you’re an aphid), is not the same species! Have I finally found one of our native ladybugs?

Alas, no, it has two spots too few. The seven-spotted ladybug is closely related to its American cousin the nine-spotted ladybug, but the nine-spot is rarely seen these days. The seven-spot is native to Europe and, like the Asian beetles, was brought over to the States for pest control and then established itself in the wild.

This one established itself on the petals of my purple coneflower. But the aphids are on the roses! The roses! For the love of Sammy, the aphids are on the roses!

Ah well, I’ve gotten a little disoriented in foreign lands myself.

Who am I?

Who am I?

This particular ladybug is a multicolored Asian lady beetle, which is not native to the United States. Ohio State's extension office has a nice writeup on this (often deliberately) introduced little predator.

Ellie didn't share my excitement since this involved neither food nor hedgehogs, but I got even more excited when I realized the newly minted ladybug was on the other side of the leaf, waiting for its wings to dry. I decided to hold off on pictures and took Ellie on her full walk, which in hindsight was pretty risky, but it all worked out. The ladybug was still there when we got back and I ran inside to get the camera and took, oh, let's just say a few pictures.

When I got up to let our cat Emma back inside, I returned to find the leaf empty. Our yard's newest predator had taken flight, but not before I got some nice pictures. In this one, the ladybug on the left waits with wings outstretched to dry. On the right is the orange and black shell from which it just emerged.

While trimming one of my favorite rose bushes, I noticed this ladybug was on the underside of one of the leaves. I rescued it from the clippings and put it back on a rose petal. It was a real eye-opener when I looked at the pictures later. I had always assumed the black patches on the white middle section were its eyes, and was surprised to see its real eyes just below that section, two compound eyes much like a fly’s eyes.