The development cycle of the ladybug
Ladybugs form their own, very generic and species-rich family within the beetle order. There are around 250 genera and 6000 species worldwide, of which we only have a few hundred. How ladybugs live and maintain their species is not that much different from the cycles of other beetles. With the exception of one special feature: if you want and the conditions are favorable, you can survive not just one, but two winters!
also read
- What do the larvae of ladybirds look like?
- How to attract ladybugs
- How ladybugs settle
In itself, a ladybug goes through the usual stages of development:
1 egg
2. larva
3rd doll
4. Imago (adult beetle)
Prepare the eggs
The ladybug year starts early, namely in late winter. Immediately after waking up from winter rigor, they look for the beetles to mate. A mated female then begins laying eggs at the end of April. It can lay up to 400 eggs in total, but that varies depending on the species. The ladybird portioned this large number of eggs into small groups, which it lays down tightly and neatly in suitable places. A clutch usually has 10 to 60 eggs. However, some species also lay the eggs individually.
Where to find the eggs
The female looks for suitable sources of food for the resting places, which the hatching larvae should immediately have available for self-service. Egg clusters can often be seen on the undersides of leaves and in cracks in tree bark.
By the way, suitable food for the larvae is first and foremost aphids - and this is what defines their status as garden protégés. The larvae of scale insects also grow large and strong. Ladybugs will also prefer to send their larvae to life where many of these sap suckers can be found. Twenty-two-spotted ladybugs also conveniently feed on powdery mildew mushrooms.
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 larva can already be recognized through the thin membrane. The egg will then turn gray. It takes a ladybug larva about 2 hours to work its way out of the egg. To open it, many types have pushing tools in the head, back and chest area, which are thrown off during the first molt after single use.
