Little Red

Dear Steemian !!! How is this day today, of course fine !, In this world there bamyak ever type of insect with various types and shapes, as is the case with a species of small and colorful insects. In Indonesia these small colorful insects are called ladybugs. In England, his name is ladybird. In other countries, the name is different again. Although not everyone likes beetles, generally not so with the ladybugs. Children are fascinated by him, gardeners and farmers welcome his presence with open arms. What makes it so popular?

Why Popular

Most of these friendly little beetle species are eager to eat aphids (visible on the left), soft-bodied insects that suck crops and feces that wither and die. Some adult breeds can eat thousands of aphids during their lifetime, and female larvae are equally voracious. After all, these beetles eat a lot of other insect pests, and some even like pests that damage crops around the farmers' fields.

Around the late 1800s, scaly insects called cottons were inadvertently imported from Australia to California, USA. These pests multiply so rapidly that it almost wipes out citrus plantations and destroys the citrus industry. Knowing that in his home country this insect is not a threat to crops, an entomologist goes to Australia to look for the natural enemy of the insect. It turned out to be a vedalia, a kind of ladybug. About 500 beetles were sent to California, and within a year the scaly insects were almost gone. Orange plantation survived in the end.

A Year of the Ladybug Life

This charming little beetle is like a dome, round or oval, with a flat stomach. Although greedy, most species of ladybugs are less than a centimeter long. The flying-wing is frail and sheltered behind the elytra, which is a shiny wing cover that gives colorful beetles of its pattern. As the insect flies, it is completely open so it does not block the wing-fly. Although ladybirds are often depicted red with black spots, about 5,000 species of ladybugs actually have a variety of color combinations and spots. There are orange or yellow with dark spots. The other is black with red spots. Some are not spotted. There are others that are chipped like chess or striped boards.

Many species of life reach a year. During the winter, the adult ladies are hibernating in a dry, sheltered location. When the weather is hotter, they wake up and fly in search of plants infected with aphids. The female ladybug, after mating, puts a small yellowish egg (visible on the right) on the underside of the leaf near the aphid colony. Each egg hatches into a six-legged larva which is more like a small, gluttonous aligator (left visible) than a mature bugger. Because all the time it eats aphids, the larvae soon become too big for the skin. After changing the skin several times, he attaches himself to a plant and produces a pupal shell. In the cocoon, the larvae continue to grow until it finally comes out as a mature bugger. When his body is still soft and pale, he sticks to the plant until his body hardens. Within a day, a typical pattern emerges.

The enemy gets a lesson to avoid the colorful ladybugs. When threatened, the beetle sprayed a foul-smelling yellow that tasted disgusting from the joints. Predators, like birds or spiders, will never forget their first unpleasant encounter, and the insect's bright colors will always remind them to keep their distance.

Became the source of trouble

In the world of insects there is one species of ladybird, which was originally used as a pest exterminator, even a destructive pest. Harlequin ladybugs, also called Asian colorful pistils, live harmoniously with other species of ladybirds in their natural habitat in northeastern Asia. Due to strong interest in aphids and other plant pests, recently he was brought to North America and Europe. Unfortunately, he even threatens the survival of the local ladybirds by eating all their food. Worse, when his favorite food is gone and no natural enemy controls the number the hungry beetle begins to devour the local ladybirds and other useful insects. Entomologists view the future with pessimism as they anticipate the extinction of some species of ladybirds. Harlequin ladybugs are also unpopular as they devour ripe fruits ready for harvest and for clustering around houses to avoid the winter air that can make him die. Then some other species of ladybirds devour valuable crops instead of insect pests. But there is also a type of ladybird that is considered safe for agriculture.

So a brief description of this tiny insect type, may be useful.