Some welcome friends!

[journey11]

I've been seeing so many red ladybugs in my garden this year. When I was hanging out laundry last week, I noticed TONS of aphids coating the leaves of a stray vine from my autumn clematis that had worked its way under my deck. A couple days later I noticed an army of ladybug larvae had moved in! There are now hundreds of them pupating, attached to the vine and to the wood surface under my deck. It is so nice to have them around. They wiped out the aphids in just a couple of days.

I thought I'd post a pic of them so anyone unfamiliar with their larval stage would know not to squish these strange looking visitors. As they start to pupate, one might quickly mistake them for a potato beetle larvae since they are the same color.

 

[lesa]

Glad they arrived to save the day! Good idea to post the pic- I am sorry to say that I squished a few last year, before I did my research...They were very helpful with the aphids on my plum tree.

 

[897tgigvib]

I've heard Ladybugs are called the lions of the garden.

 

[Carol Dee]

YEAH Ladybugs. They really are the good bugs.

 

[journey11]

I wish I had taken a "before" photo of those leaves... They were completely coated with aphids!

 

[majorcatfish]

you gotta love ladybugs...

one year they decided to overwinter in the house..guess we were buggie.

 

[digitS']

Lions of the Garden?

Might be the color and personality of the larva. Those babies look more alligators than cats, to me tho'. Now that I think about it -- they've kind of got the personality of an alligator, too!

During their adult stage, maybe they are doing penance. . . with just an aphid or 2 for a snack.

Steve

 

[NwMtGardener]

Whoa, you mean that bug on the left is a ladybug larvae??? I had no idea!! So glad you posted this, i dont squish bugs unless i'm sure...but still, that's so cool!!

 

[journey11]

Yeah, they're wild looking, aren't they! (LOL Steve...I think alligator is about right.) The one on the left is the larva and the one on the right is a pupa. They stick themselves to something, like a butterfly pupae would.

 

[Stubbornhillfarm]

Glad you posted journey and I am chuckling to myself. I had no idea that these two would eventually turn into ladybugs.

And...on one of my favorite documentaries that I have watched a hundred times, they are picking bugs from the garden stating how ladybugs are great, but "not these bugs". I recognize some of those bugs as what you have pictured. WHoops! They were amatures so I don't hold that against them at all. Just thought it was funny.