Here we are - so lucky to have this opportunity to find this ladybug today and so happenly we have a macro lens with us. As I mentioned in my ladyshutterbugz's page, macro lens is belonging to a friend, Dave and he let us hang on to it - he intend to sell but not in a hurry.
I am obsessed with ladybug if you must know and that is why I am putting my co-sign in photography as "ladySHUTTERbugz" - you get it, right?
Okay - cut the story short, let's move on to the informative segment.
After googling - I found two page that given me good information about ladybug.
Source:
1. Wikipedia
Coccinellidae is a family of beetles, known variously as ladybirds (UK, Ireland, Australia, Pakistan, South Africa, New Zealand, India, Malta, some parts of Canada and the US), or ladybugs (North America). Scientists increasingly prefer the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles[1] as these insects are neither birds nor true bugs. Lesser-used names include ladyclock, lady cow, and lady fly.[2]
Coccinellids are small insects, ranging from 1 mm to 10 mm (0.04 to 0.4 inches), and are commonly yellow, orange, or scarlet with small black spots on their wing covers, with black legs, head and antennae. A very large number of coccinellidspecies are mostly, or entirely, black, grey, or brown and may be difficult for non-entomologists to recognize as coccinellids. Conversely, there are many small beetles that are easily mistaken for coccinellids, such as the tortoise beetles.
Coccinellids are found worldwide, with over 5,000 species described,[3] more than 450 native to North America alone.
A few species are considered pests in North America and Europe, but they are generally considered useful insects as many species feed on aphids or scale insects, which are pests in gardens, agricultural fields, orchards, and similar places.Harmonia axyridis (or the Harlequin ladybug) was introduced into North America from Asia in 1988 to control aphids but is now the most common species as it is out-competing many of the native species.[4] It has since spread to much of western Europe, reaching the UK in 2004.[4][5]
Many people are fond of ladybugs because of their colorful, spotted appearance. But farmers love them for their appetite. Most ladybugs voraciously consume plant-eating insects, such as aphids, and in doing so they help to protect crops. Ladybugs lay hundreds of eggs in the colonies of aphids and other plant-eating pests. When they hatch, the ladybug larvae immediately begin to feed. By the end of its three-to-six-week life, a ladybug may eat some 5,000 aphids.
Ladybugs are also called lady beetles or, in Europe, ladybird beetles. There are about 5,000 different species of these insects, and not all of them have the same appetites. A few ladybugs prey not on plant-eaters but on plants. The Mexican bean beetle and the squash beetle are destructive pests that prey upon the crops mentioned in their names.
Ladybugs appear as half-spheres, tiny, spotted, round or oval-shaped domes. They have short legs and antennae.
Their distinctive spots and attractive colors are meant to make them unappealing to predators. Ladybugs can secrete a fluid from joints in their legs which gives them a foul taste. Their coloring is likely a reminder to any animals that have tried to eat their kind before: "I taste awful." A threatened ladybug may both play dead and secrete the unappetizing substance to protect itself.
Fast FactsType:
Type: Bug
Diet: Omnivore
Average life span in the wild : 2-3 years
Size: 0.3 to 0.4 in (8-10mm) - relative to a paper clip
