Ladybug - Seven-spotted beetle
Seven-spotted ladybug - Coccinella septempunctata L.
The beetle is black, with bright red elytra adorned with black spots. Everyone remembers this. There are three spots on each elytron and one common spot on the pronotum – a total of seven. Upon closer inspection, we can see two whitish spots: they are located on the forehead. The body length of the beetles can vary from 5 to 8 mm. This does not necessarily mean that a small beetle is young, and a large one is old. In the first case, the larva from which the beetle formed clearly did not eat enough, simply – it was starving. In the second case, it ate its fill. Thus, the result turned out to be different.
On the underside of the leaf, the female lays her orange eggs in clusters of up to fifty each. One female can lay up to 600 eggs. After one to two weeks, agile black larvae with yellow spots emerge, measuring 2-3 mm. Even when they are still tiny, they already show their predatory nature and pounce on all living things they see around them. Naturally, at this stage, the victims correspond to the size of the predator: usually, these are aphid eggs or just hatched larvae.
After a month, having destroyed numerous aphids and reaching a length of a whole centimeter, the larva of our hero immediately transforms into a black immobile pupa in its feeding area. A week to a week and a half later, a beetle emerges from the split along its back skin. After resting a bit and waiting for its elytra to harden and strengthen, it realizes that it is hungry and begins to search for food.
It destroys aphids in huge quantities, which form large colonies on various plants and cause significant harm by sucking plant juices. It is considered a beneficial predator–entomophage.
In autumn, ladybugs migrate from fields and meadows to the edges of forests, to overgrown riverbanks and ravines. Here, in secluded places, under the bark, in moss, and under fallen leaves, they will spend the winter, to appear in spring as "little suns" among blooming plants. Ladybugs live openly on plants, and when threatened, they secrete an orange, sharply smelling, toxic liquid, simply repelling enemies.
This beetle can be found all summer: it busily scurries about, often takes flight, and quickly lands back on plants. It creates the impression that the insect is constantly trying to fly into the sky. These charming beetles have received the affectionate name "ladybugs" in popular culture. Sometimes, Slavs call them "little suns," believing that their homeland is a heavenly paradise. In English, they are called "ladybirds." But why did ladybugs receive such a strange name?
Perhaps they give the impression of harmless creatures.
People believe that ladybugs bring good luck. There is a belief: a bride, placing a beetle on her hand, watches where it flies off, and from there, she should expect her groom. In folk medicine, ladybugs are recommended for use against colic and measles; powder made from crushed beetles, placed in a tooth cavity, instantly stops pain.
Distribution: throughout Kyrgyzstan.
Insects of Kyrgyzstan
