What Do Asian Lady Beetles Eat?

Asian Lady Beetles can enter houses during the winter, so it is important to know what they eat and whether they are dangerous to you.

Say what you will about ladybugs; they might be one of the prettiest bugs hanging out in your garden. The native species are bright red with black spots and the subject of many children’s rhymes.

Their distant cousins, the Asian Lady Beetles, are equally colorful spotted beetles and have become common in some areas of North America.

They are also known by other names like Harlequin beetles. There are nearly 5,000 species of lady beetles around the world.

In this article, we will talk about these colorful creatures and, specifically, what they eat.

What Are Asian Lady Beetles?

Asian Lady Beetles are a type of ladybug native to countries like China, Japan, Russia, and Korea. They traveled to America a few decades ago and have become common in several states.

The average adult Asian lady beetle is dome-shaped in appearance and flat on the bottom. This convex shape makes them appear like orange mushrooms when seen from above.

The body of a Lady Beetle is a quarter-of-an-inch long and half-an-inch wide. They have different colors (red, orange, and yellow) and black spot patterns that can help differentiate them from each other.

How to Identify Them?

The Asian lady beetle is very similar to native ladybugs, so it can be hard to distinguish them. One difference is that they are slightly longer with bigger bodies.

Asian lady beetles have about 19 spots on their back, some well-defined and others in faint traces on their wings. They have more spots than their native cousins.

If you are trying to recognize the Asian beetle, the most definitive thing to look for is a white ‘M’-mark (or W-mark, depending on which way you look at it) behind its head on black background. This mark can be thick, thin, or even broken, but it only exists on the ALBs.

The larvae of the Asian lady beetles are shaped like very tiny alligators. This is a very similar look to any other beetle larva.

They can be blue or black, usually with two orange stripes. These larvae also have rows of small urticating spines throughout their bodies.

What Do Asian Lady Beetles Eat?

Asian lady beetles mainly feed on soft-bodied insects that they usually find on the surface of plants. These insects consist of various insect pests like aphids, meal bugs, and spider mites.

Adult beetles also eat the eggs and larvae of these insects.

An adult ALB can feed on upto 100 aphids in a day. Larvae of the Asian lady beetles can eat nearly 600 to 1200 aphids during their growing stages. Their propensity to eat pests makes them a friend to farmers and gardeners.

The larvae of these bugs develop over four stages, so they need nutrition from aphids and cannot survive on a plant-based diet.

By the time they grow into adulthood, an average beetle will have consumed nearly 5000 aphids.

Where Do Asian Lady Beetles Live?

They are normally found in open fields of various crops like corn, roses, tobacco, and soya beans. They are common in summer and start dispersing as autumn sets in.

Lady beetles are attracted to light/dark contrasts, often infesting homes and buildings. They look for sheltered areas like wall cavities and attics to hibernate in the winter months.

These are places where they overwinter, trying to save themselves from cold weather.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Asian Ladybugs are an invasive species, swarming your home and entering inside in the winter season. On the other hand, they can also be beneficial insects friendly to gardeners because they eat away all pests.

So the next time you spot these pretty insects flying about, it would not be such a bad idea to let them stick around in the garden. Just make sure they don’t find a way to get inside the house.

Thank you for reading!