COLEOPTERA > POLYPHAGA > COCCINELLOIDEA > Coccinellidae

In much the same way as other holometabolous insects, ladybirds go through complete metamorphosis as they develop, with the young larva hatching from an egg, later pupating and then emerging as an adult. But, unlike most beetle species whose larvae are seldom seen unless you're specifically looking for them, ladybird larvae, and sometimes the pupae as well, can be found reasonably easily. That's not necessarily the case with all species, but with a few of the more common varieties, especially the Harlequin and 7-spot, this stage of their life cycle can often be observed and photographed.

Looking back at the previous pages, there are photos of adults that have overwintered, but have not yet mated; adults that have mated or are in the process of mating that will subsequently die; and, later on in the season, fresh adults that will be feeding prior to overwintering. It's difficult to generalise as some species may have more than one generation in a year, but the larvae are usually active from around late May to July. The new year adults typically start overwintering during October, possibly November subject to the weather, going into a dormant state until the spring. They will emerge in March or April to find food, following which they will mate. The females will then lay her eggs, which will hatch into larvae after about 4-5 days.

On hatching, the larvae are tiny, but they're voracious feeders and will grow quickly passing through four instar forms before pupating. The various larval stages develop over several weeks, so during the spring months you may well find a mixture of smaller first and second instar larvae that cannot be distinguished, as well as larger, more developed, third and forth instars that you should be able to identify. The depth of colour and markings may vary depending on a few factors including whether the larva has recently shed its skin, especially after the third moult, because at this stage it will look paler as the exoskeleton won't have hardened. Similar variance can also occur due to temperature and/or how well the lava has fed, bearing in mind that they could be eating up to eighty aphids a day, which would blow them out thereby stretching the skin. Nonetheless, most of the 'conspicuous' species should be identifiable.

After the immature beetle has reached the end of the larval stage of its life cycle, it will adhere to a surface, such as a leaf or plant stem, and then hunch over allowing its skin to split for a final time. The process then varies from one group (tribe) of species to another. I have only photographed larvae a couple of times so obviously I've little knowledge other than what I've read, but dependent on age, condition and species they may be identifiable. The adult beetle will normally emerge after 5-7 days, following which they will feed, but will not mate until the following spring.

The fourth instar larvae of the 7-spot Ladybird [Coccinella septempunctata] are mid to dark grey with a bluish tinge. They have black tubercles and dark orange patches on the first thoracic segment, and similarly coloured orange markings around the dorso and ventro-lateral tubercles of abdominal segments one and four. The pupae are usually pale orange with two rows of dark triangular markings running down the middle, but occasionally are a reverse of those colours as can be seen from the two examples shown below.

In the 10-spot Ladybird [Adalia decempunctata] the larvae are mainly brownish-grey with a paler head and with black tubercles that are surrounded with a pale whiteish ring. They have a pair of conspicuous pale orange to whiteish dorsolateral tubercles on the first abdominal segment, a pair of pale mid-dorsal tubercles on abdominal segment four and partially or completely pale lower lateral tubercles on most segments. All tubercles have fine hairs. Freshly hatched larvae are often found on the backs of aphids sucking their body fluids as the move around, but as they develop, they will simply devour the aphids and their eggs.

The larvae of the Harlequin Ladybird [Harmonia axyridis] are black with conspicuous orange markings around the bases and spines of the lateral tubercles on abdominal segments one to five. As the larvae develop, the first pair of the abdominal dorsal tubercles will also become orange, thereby forming an L-shape on each side. When the larvae reach the final instar stage the dorsal tubercle spines on abdominal segments four and five will also turn orange. The following photos show third and fourth instar forms.

The fourth instar larvae of the 24-spot Ladybird [Subcoccinella vigintiquattuorpunctata] with the incredibly long scientific name is, in my opinion, the most attractive. They are short and stubby with a cream-yellow or greenish-yellow colour, and with tubercles that bear thick yellow spiny bristles with extensive side-branching.

Scymnus larva are covered in white waxy tufts, very distinctive, but unfortunately not distinguishable to species. I found the individual featured below in our garden and can only surmise that it must have been attached to a leaf that could have been blown in from a nearby tree as I can't think of any other reason it would have been there as they're primarily woodland, heathland or wetland species. My best guess would be Scymnus auritus as we do have a small patch of woodland a short distance up the road with some large oak trees.

Updated, Feb.25 (v.3)