Little Monsters Part 31 - Harlequin Ladybird Larva
This afternoon I had the great fortune to spot both a Ladybird larva and and adult Ladybird feasting on aphids in the garden!
Little Aphid under the stem, may be safe for now, maybe not!
Considered a pest in North America the Asian Ladybird or Harlequin Ladybird is native to East Asia and is considered just another beneficial insect here. The adults eat a fair amount of aphids though it is the larvae that are truly ravenous!
They're easier to use for aphid control too as they can't fly away. I sometimes gather them from weeds that are growing near the street and bring them back to the garden by the house. Gently brushing the ladybird larvae onto the rose bushes, they will then crawl about looking for aphids to dine upon.
This particular larva must have been hungry and a bit frustrated, there were no aphids on the leaf it was rapidly roaming about exploring.
While the top of the head is just out of the DOF the powerful jaws are easy to make out.
The tufts of bristles and the grey skin make them look a little like small replicas of Godzilla!
In a few more days, after fattening up on sweet little aphids, the larva will find a sheltered space, form a yellowish pupa and soon emerge as a colourful adult, to fly off in search of a mate and begin the cycle all over again!
More details and photos of the Harlequin Ladybird: Little Monsters Part 10
Also, if you like macro photography, check out some of the earlier posts in this series.
Little Monsters - Part I: Wolf Spiders
Little Monsters - Part II: Golden Orb Weaver
Little Monsters - Part III: Lynx Spiders!
Little Monsters - Part IV: Decorator Orb Weaver
Little Monsters - Part V: Black Back Paper Wasp
Little Monsters - Part VI: Dragonfly
Little Monsters - Part VII: Indian Fritallary
Little Monsters - Part VIII: Giant Japanese Hornet
Little Monsters - Part IX: Praying Mantis!
Little Monsters - Part X: Harlequin Ladybird!
Little Monsters - Part XI: Dragons!
Little Monsters - Part XII: Snails!
Little Monsters - Part XIII: Evil Weevils!
Little Monsters - Part XIV: Fantastic Phasmids!
Little Monsters - Part XV: To Bee or not to Bee?
Little Monsters - Part 16: Jumping Spiders!
Little Monsters - Part 17: Hawkmoth Caterpillars and Hawkmoths
Little Monsters - Part 18: Evil Doppelgangers - The Ant Mimic Spider
Little Monsters - Part 19: Hummingbird Hawkmoth!
Little Monsters - Part 20: Loud and Proud the Cicada!
Little Monsters - Part 21: Great Green Caterpillars!
Little Monsters - Part 22: Vespa mandarina japonica
Little Monsters - Part 23: Little Black Ants
Little Monsters - Part 24: Cranes and Robbers
Little Monsters - Part 25: Hidden in the Grass
Little Monsters - Part 26: Ammophila, Alien is real!
Little Monsters - Part 27: Bush Cricket
Little Monsters - Part 28: Butterflies, flying bits of colour!
Little Monsters - Part 29: Hermit Crabs!
Little Monsters - Part 30: Redback Spider!
I maintain and reserve copyright on all of my photos.
Awesome little creatures!
They really are! Check out the other post I have on them to learn about their biological weapons! It's straight up Sci-fi! Though technically, Sci-nonfi :P
hmmp! it's not a little monster :p
it's a darling :P haha
I love them specially the larva
it's amazing how you get to take this vivid a shot knowing they are teeny weeny!
They are little darlings, but I had to make it fit with the rest of the series! :P
I love it. So cool shots. Nature is amazing. I follow your blog because I would like to enjoy that magnificent insects . Thank you for your posts. You welcome to follow mine as well. :) Have a zoomy day :)
Nature is truly wonderful indeed! Thank you!
Really awesome photos! Have a look at mine if you'd like!
Thanks, you've got some good work too. I find that putting a few pictures of a common theme together often gets better results than single photo postings.
Cool thanks for the tip! I'll follow
Best of luck! Welcome to Steemit!
Good Job, pretty Photos :)
Thank you very much! I hope to find some of the Little Monsters that I missed last summer, still plenty out there!