She and her counterparts, of which there are 450 known species in North America alone, are very beneficial insects to have in a garden. Ladybugs, sometimes called ladybird beetles , eat 50-60 aphids per day. They also eat other varieties of harmful insects like mealy bugs, leaf hoppers, mites and other soft-bodied garden pests. Even the ladybug larvae are beneficial. They require large numbers of aphids to sustain themselves and to progress from pupae to adult ladybug.
Ladybugs are vibrant and very identifiable insects and have a variety of different markings.
The most common colors are red or orange bodies, with black spots. Other species have white or yellow spots or are completely black with no spots at all. The larvae too, are vibrantly colored, most often blue with orange or black stripes. Ladybug beetles are never larger than 1.2 centimetres. The majority of ladybug species are carnivores, that is, they feed only on other insects.