Can you help ID?
Looks like a leaf beetle but I can’t find out what kind in any of the books I have. This is a photo of just a few of them. We want to do some organic farming near by but hopefully not plant what they want to eat. What are they? What do they eat? They are in northern California (near Petaluma) in the many many thousands. Why are they meeting along a flooding ditch in the winter? Thanks for your help!
Pete
Hi Pete,
We don’t recognize your beetle, which we believe is either a Chrysomelid, a Leaf Beetle or our suspicion, a Coccinellid, one of the Ladybird Beetles. We are waiting for a response from Eric Eaton.
Eric Eaton’s Response: ” Believe it or not, those ARE lady beetles. More specifically, the striped lady beetle, Ceratomegilla vittigera (this is what I suspect to be an old name, and one would have to look for the more current synonym). I was not aware that this was a species that formed aggregations. We would love to add this species, and these images, to Bugguide (hint, hint). Eric ” Certain species of Ladybird Beetles form aggregations during the winter months in preparation for hibernation. We are requesting your permission to post this to BugGuide if you don’t mind. Eric later added this: ” Proper name for the striped lady beetle is Paranaemia vittigera. Apparently aggegations are not uncommon. I just didn’t know that. Eric “
It is fine to use the photo’s as you see fit. I have attached a close up and another group shot to help confirm the ID. Also one photo of the bad (from a gardener’s viewpoint) company the keep – diabrotica beetles. I sure hope they are ladybird’s.
Pete
Hi again Pete,
Thank you for the additional photos. The cohabitation photo with the Spotted Cucumber Beetle, though blurry, is very interesting. We will post to BugGuide as well.
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Posted 09 January 2006
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Hi,
Have you any idea why lady bird beetles would congregate on seaweed at the beach? This is Point Reyes National Seashore, Marin County, north of San Francisco. Certainly no aphids on seaweed! Do they eat something else? Also, do these beetles get their spots in stages and are these all convergent ladybugs even though they don’t all have the regular spot pattern?
Thanks,
Wendy
Hi Wendy,
Ladybird Beetles are often swept out to sea or out onto large lakes due to wind patterns. They climb aboard whatever “raft” happens to float by, like seaweed. When the seaweed washes ashore, the Ladybird Beetles reach dry land and eventually fly away. There is much individual variation in coloration within species.
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Posted 06 January 2006
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7-spot ladybird beetle
One of our native ladybird beetles, which we are seeing less and less with the increased proliferation of the asian multicoloured ladybeetles.
Nadjia
Hi again Nadjia,
Thank you for your contribution and the poignant reminder that invasive species are crowding out native species.
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Posted 19 November 2005
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What seem to be larvae
Thought these were neat looking and wondered if you knew what they might be. Seen a few of them around our doorstep
Jenna
Hi Jenna,
This is the larva of a type of Ladybird Beetle known as the Mealybug Destroyer, Cryptolaemus montrouzieri. According to BugGuide, it was “Imported to the US from Australia in 1891 to control citrus mealybugs in California. Widely used for control of citrus and long-tailed mealybugs, soft scales and related pests. Will not survive cold winters, so it is mostly used in greenhouses or mild-winter areas, or has to be introduced annually.”
ladybug mystery
Could you help me?
I found this black ladybug and I can’t identify it. P.S. I didn’t take the picture,I found it, but not the name of the ladybug.
anonymus.
Hi Anonymous,
Your ladybug goes by the melodramatic name Two-Stabbed Ladybird, Chilocorus orbus.
Correction: (10/20/2005) from Eric Eaton
“Sorry, forgot to mention the twice-stabbed lady beetle. That is not what the image is of. It is possibly a melanic (black) version of the two-spotted lady beetle, Adalia bipunctata. Not uncommon in Europe, don’t know about here in the states. Other possibility is the black form of the ashy gray lady beetle, Olla v-nigrum. Could be something else entirely, but those two are at the top of the suspect list, and in that order. The white markings on the pronotum (top of the thorax) say that it is NOT Chilocorus. Chilocorus species all have a solid black pronotum. ”
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Posted 19 October 2005
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Great web site
;Bugman,
thanks for your help on my recent submissions. Your web site is great. I’ve been photographing crawling critters for a few years and it’s nice to have a place to identify these little marvels. I’m sending you a few more that you can use on your site if you’d like. I photographed the Ladybugs at the Richard Nixon Library in Yorba Linda Ca. The Millipede came from Heber Springs, Arkansas. The Female American Dog Tic, hitch-hiked on me while on a trail in Anaheim Ca.
Thanks again
Rus
Hi Rus,
We were slightly amused that you photographed an insect with the same name as a former President’s wife at the library of another President. Planting trees and shrubs will attract insects. Your mating Ladybird Beetles are stunning.
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Posted 29 July 2005
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mystery solved! before and after photos…
These are all over my squash plant in North Carolina!
Joann
Hi Joann,
We weren’t really familiar with the larvae of the Squash Ladybird Beetle, Epilachna borealis, but thanks to your photos, now we are. Most Ladybird Beetles are predatory, but this particular species feeds on the leaves of squash and pumpkin plants in both larval and adult form.
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Posted 04 July 2005
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Ladybug mating pics
Hi,
I got carried away & sifted through all my bug pictures since I got my digital camera & tidied up the best ones for you. I’ll send them in bunches, trying not to make any one email huge. Use whatever ones you like, however you like on your site.
Love, Marian
Hi Marian,
Your mating Ladybird Beetles are a nice addition to our site. Thanks much
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Posted 03 July 2005
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weird bug
Hi – I’ve seen another interesting bug. It was crawling across my porch. it’s not the first time I’ve seen its kind, and have always wondered what it is. Thanks!!
Michelle
Hi Michelle,
The wonders of metamorphosis never cease to amaze. Most everyone can identify a Ladybug, more accurately a Ladybird Beetle, but few people recognize the larval form. That is what you have photographed. They have ravenous appetites and devour huge quantities of Aphids. The Larval Ladybird Beetles are often found in tall grass and they are very mobile.
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Posted 30 May 2005
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What is this bug??
Hi Bugman,
We have had lots of these little critters in our den lately – and my husband and I have NEVER seen these before- we live in a wooded area in Southern California w/ lots of Eucalyptus trees. We find a few a day lately- and are so curious as to what they are and what they do and where they come from and how we can get rid of them! HELP! Thanks mucho!
Warm regards,
Jody Tsouo
Hi Jody,
Our first thought was perhaps you had some type of beetle larva, but we checked with Eric Eaton who thought that it might be one of the Rove Beetles. Your photo is a little unclear and the fact that you shot through plastic didn’t help.
Thanks for getting back to me- and yes, they do seem to be in somewhat of a larvae stage- when they move, their whole bodies shorten and extend, almost like a lizard or snake. I’ve been obsessed w/ them wondering what they are, and have been watching them quite closely 
I did a search online of rove beetles, and the ones we have look nothing like any rove beetle listed on this site. They don’t move fast at all either- and they tend to “Cling” when you try to grab them. I am having a pest person come over in a little bit to try and identify them- their 6 legs are in the upper quadrant of their body- and when I tried to grab one yesterday, this yellow fluid came out- wasn’t sure if it was waste, or trying to defend itself. It was bright yellow though. I’ll let you know what they say- he said if he couldn’t ID it, he’d send some up to the Cal Agro people… I can try and take some better shots if you want.
Warm regards,
Jody Tsouo
Hi again, Just found out that they may be lady bug larvae- since the pest guy wasn’t 100% sure, he’s sending them to the California Agro people to see what they say- the funny thing is we have seen a few lady bugs around lately- and just thought they were good luck! He did find a few dead lady bugs that were tan in color, and hadn’t fully developed to their red color yet.
Warm regards,
Jody Tsouo
Let us know what the California Agro people have to say Jody. Eric Eaton also agrees. He wrote back: “Ah-HA! The lady beetle larvae answer seems much better, though I would have expected some red markings somewhere….”
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Posted 03 April 2005
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On the rosebush
Hi,
We found this little guy on the rosebush as we were cleaning off aphids. S/he is about 1/4 inch long. Have not seen one like it, so was curious to know what it might be.
Thanks in advance,
Eric Bergsten
Hi Eric,
I hope your immature Lady Bird Beetle or Ladybug did not come to an untimely end. The larvae are ravenous aphid eaters, and unlike the adults, do not fly away. Your specimen is Harmonia axyridis, the Multicolored Asian lady beetle.
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Posted 08 October 2004
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What’s this I’m stumped…not quite a lady bug… the head is wrong. Any ideas. Thanks,s
Suzanne
Dear Suzanne,
You do in fact have a member of the Ladybird Beetle Family Coccinellidae. Your specimen is Coleomegilla fuscilabris. The species, which ranges from light yellow to reddish-orange with black markings. It is common on foilage.
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Posted 29 August 2004
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