The Lady’s many costumes

Until recently Ladybird Beetles all looked the same to me but a closer look shows the lady has a number of outfits.

Common Spotted Ladybird

Ladybirds are a family of beetles (Coccinellidae) commonly found on roses and in vegetable gardens. They are considered beneficial insects as the adults and their young are voracious feeders of soft-bodied invertebrates such as aphids and mites but also consume flower nectar, water and honeydew from aphids.

Transverse Ladybird

The majority of ladybirds are red/orange and black but there are a variety of designs. Pictured are three such beetles found in our vegetable garden at the moment – the 23-spotted Common Spotted Ladybird (Harmonia conformis), the Transverse Ladybird (Coccinella transversalis) and the White-collared or Spotted Amber Ladybird (Hippodamia variegata).

Spotted Amber Ladybird

Fungus-eating Ladybird

Of course as any lady knows, if you want to stand out in the crowd you have to dress differently.   Also in our vegie garden is the yellow and black Fungus-eating Ladybird (Illeis glabula), pictured right. As the name suggests it feeds on fungus and black mold on leaves.

Vegetarians always stand out in a crowd!