two-spotted ladybird beetle and larva

I was taking photos of any interesting insects I could find today on my walk.  One such discovery was of a ladybug larva.  Finding them is not unusual, but what was strange was the fact that it was black and white with relatively short legs.  There are something like 6000 species of ladybird beetle in the world, with just under 170 being in Canada.  About half of those can be found in BC.

I have photographed maybe a dozen different species of ladybug.  I photographed the adult 2-spotted beetle in 2014 and the larva today - about 11 years apart.  I am not certain that the larva I shot is in fact a 2-spotted "grub", although the proper term is probably "ladybird beetle larva".  Sometimes the word "nymph" gets used, but this is also incorrect given that nymph is used to identify the juvenile form of insects undergoing incomplete metamorphosis.  

Anyways, all ladybug larvae consume vast numbers of aphids and other garden pests and are welcome sights in your yard.  They typically have 4 instar stages before they molt for the last time and enter the pupal stage.  This lasts for one to two weeks and then the insect emerges as a grown adult.  You can see the pupal stage in the image below.  I photographed this one in 2014 as well.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com


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