Are ladybugs beneficial bugs or pests?

Ladybug is a general term for round raised beetles of the family Coleoptera, with bright body colors, often with red, black or yellow spots, otherwise known as fat little, matchmaker, flower elder sister, golden turtle, etc., and even because some species of their secretions have a bad smell, they are commonly known as smelly beetles. They will experience four stages of complete growth of eggs, larvae, pupae and adults. Let's take a look at whether ladybugs are beneficial bugs or pests.

Are ladybugs beneficial bugs or pests?

Ladybugs are both pests and beneficial insects. There are many kinds of ladybugs, which can be divided into carnivorous ladybugs and herbivorous ladybugs. Adult carnivorous ladybugs will prey on any fleshy and soft insects, and their favorite food is aphids, such as seven-star ladybugs. Most species of plant ladybugs feed on plants of Solanaceae, Cucurbitaceae and Compositae, such as potato ladybug and eggplant 28 lady beetle, which collectively eat eggplant and potato leaves and are regarded as pests.

Which ladybugs are pests?

1. Eggplant 28 star ladybug: the parasitic plants of eggplant 28 ladybug are Solanaceae vegetables such as potato, eggplant, tomato, green pepper and cucumber, wax gourd, towel gourd and other cucurbitaceae vegetables. In addition, it also harms legumes, solanum nigrum, acid, mandala, tobacco, etc., adults and larvae feed on leaf flesh, and the residual upper epidermis is netted, and in serious cases, the whole leaf is eaten up. In addition, on the surface of sweet melons and fruits, the damaged parts become hard and bitter. Affect the output and quality.

2. Coccinella septempunctata: the adults and larvae of Coccinella septempunctata feed on the leaves, which are in the shape of holes or notches, or leave only the veins of the leaves, and the larvae mature into the soil to build a chamber to pupate, and the adults migrate to the host after Eclosion. Mainly feed on grapes, wild grapes and raspberries and other plants.

3. Potato lady beetle: the adults and larvae of potato ladybug eat the leaf flesh on the back of the leaf, leaving only the epidermis, forming many irregular translucent fine grooves, such as the bottom, and can also eat the leaves into pores, or even leaves only veins. In severe cases, the damaged leaves dry and brown, the whole plant dies, and the fruit is often broken, the tissue becomes stiff, rough, bitter, and cannot be eaten.

Which ladybugs are beneficial bugs?

1. Seven-star lady beetle: seven-star lady beetle is a beneficial insect. Adults can prey on wheat aphids, cotton aphids, locust aphids, peach aphids, shell insects, ticks and other pests, and can greatly reduce the damage to trees, melons and fruits and all kinds of crops. It is called "live pesticide" and is widely distributed in all parts of our country.

2. Discolored lady beetle: in addition to preying on cotton aphids, the adults and larvae can also prey on the eggs and low instar larvae of Helicoverpa armigera. The adults average prey on about 70 eggs of cotton bollworm per day, and the larvae do not prey on the eggs of Helicoverpa armigera. For the newly hatched larvae of Helicoverpa armigera, there are 70 adults and 69 fourth instar larvae.

3. Six lady beetles: six lady beetles, also known as six-spotted lady beetles, have black larvae and white longitudinal spots in the middle of their backs, and feed on a variety of aphids. There are more than 20 kinds of adult plaque variations, but the markings on the forechest dorsal plate are relatively stable. They are commonly found in plants with aphids, which are commonly found in flat land to low-altitude mountain areas.

4. Tortoise lady beetle: tortoise lady beetle is a beneficial insect, which preys on aphids, leafhoppers, planthoppers, etc., and preys on the eggs and young nymphs of aphids, cotton bollworm and other pests in cotton fields in July and August. At the same time, July to September is also an important natural enemy in the orchard, feeding on aphids, leafhoppers, planthoppers and other pests in the apple orchard.

5. Coccinella grandiflora: the adult is 0.8-17mm long, the periphery is oval or long-ovate, the back is hemispherical, the ventral surface is flat, the number is rare, it preys on shell insects, and both adults and larvae prey on sugarcane woolly aphids. Distributed in Guangxi, Fujian, Taiwan, Guangdong, Guizhou, Yunnan and other places.

6. Australian lady beetles: Australian lady beetles are agricultural beneficial insects, native to Australia, like shady environment, have false death habits, and often concentrate on female adults at first hatching, and then gradually disperse. At present, Australian lady beetles have been introduced to control cotton scale in more than 50 countries. Research and utilization has been carried out in China since 1955, which has effectively controlled the occurrence of cotton scale, and is known to be distributed in various citrus producing areas in the south.