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- what does the ladybug eat
- what do ladybugs eat
- Do ladybugs eat lettuce leaves?
- What do ladybug larvae eat?
- How much can a ladybug eat?
- Cannibalism among the ladybugs
The ladybug, whose scientific name é Coccinellidae, is a small insect that belongs to the diverse and numerous order Coleptera and the family also called Coccinellidae. Their characteristic rounded shape, their striking colors, together with the polka dot-shaped spots that many species have, undoubtedly make them one of the best known and most appreciated insects in the world.
Because of their appearance, they may appear harmless, however, ladybugs are voracious predators of other insects, often their prey being important pests of agricultural crops. Want to know more about ladybugs? Keep reading this PeritoAnimal article and we'll tell you what does the ladybug eat along with other features of this wonderful group of insects. Good reading!
what does the ladybug eat
Ladybugs are carnivorous and opportunistic animals, and a single species can prey on a wide variety of insects, with data on species that consume more than 60 types of aphids. they attack the sedentary insects and show a very close synchronization of their life cycle with their prey. That is, they reproduce when their prey have growing populations and, on the other hand, they can hibernate when their prey is less active.
Measuring 4 to 8 millimeters, ladybugs have six legs, a small head, two pairs of wings and two antennae that are used so they can smell and taste. O ladybug life cycle it includes all stages, that is, it has a complete metamorphosis: it goes through the egg, larva, pupa and adult stages. The ladybug lives, on average, 6 months.
what do ladybugs eat
These insects are very important and highly valued in the agricultural sector due to the biological control they perform - they are natural predators of many pest insects. As we've already said, they are carnivorous insects and a single ladybug eats from 90 to 370 aphids a day. See what the ladybug usually eats:
- Aphids
- Scales
- White fly
- Mites
- sucking insects such as psyllids
Some species can also consume other insects, such as small moths and spiders. In fact, a lot has been said about whether ladybugs eat ants, and the truth is that they only feed on a few very specific species.
On the other hand, other types of ladybugs feed on the shells and scales of other animals, although these species are slower to develop and smaller in size than those that feed on insects such as aphids. Some species also eat some plants, as we will see below.
Do ladybugs eat lettuce leaves?
Yes, some species of ladybugs eat lettuce. There are some species of these insects, such as those that make up the subfamily Epilachninae, which are herbivores, as they consume plants. They can feed on the leaves, seeds or fruits of many plant species, such as the lettuce. Read this article about ladybug types.
Although they are not considered a pest, in times when their natural predators are not present, in this case parasitoid wasps, these ladybugs can have explosive increases in their populations. This can often pose a threat to cultivated areas in many parts of the world, as they are found in virtually all temperate zones.
What do ladybug larvae eat?
In general, larvae and ladybugs eat the same food, however, some larvae can supplement their diet by eating mushrooms, nectar and pollen.
To give you an idea, in a favorable season, especially in summer, a ladybug can consume more than thousand insects, and counting the offspring that a female can have, the ladybugs can eat more than a million insects during this period, which reinforces its role as a natural insecticide. In other words, what ladybugs eat helps, a lot, farmers around the world because they are biological controllers, as they act by eliminating insects that are often harmful to crops and are an excellent substitute for chemicals and toxics.
How much can a ladybug eat?
Ladybugs have a voracious appetite and have a very particular feeding strategy. They lay thousands of eggs in the colonies of the insects they feed on, so that when the larvae hatch, they have food available immediately.
Generally, a single larva is able to eat about 500 individuals of its prey as it develops. This can vary depending on the species and the food available, but on occasion they may consume more than 1,000 individuals. When they reach adulthood, what the ladybug eats changes, starting to consume increasingly larger species of insects, as an adult is less voracious than a larva.
Cannibalism among the ladybugs
Another characteristic of ladybugs linked to their food is that in the larval stage they are cannibals. This behavior is very widespread in most species, and it is common for those who are hatched to first feed on eggs that have just hatched and then pass on to those that have not yet hatched.
In addition, a newborn larva can also feed on its sisters who hatch shortly thereafter, maintaining this behavior for a few days, and then separating from the eggs and their sisters.
Now that you know what the ladybug eats, you might be interested in this other article about flying insects: names, characteristics and photos.
If you want to read more articles similar to What does the ladybug eat?, we recommend that you enter our Curiosities section of the animal world.