- Author: Jennifer Baumbach
We interchangeably use the terms ladybug and lady beetle, but the latter is correct. A 'bug' or True Bug is really in the order Hemiptera, which means half-wing (hemi=half and ptera=wing). The hemipterans wings are membranous on the bottom half and hard on the top. A ladybeetle is from the order Coleoptera meaning sheath-wing. This type of wing has no membrane.
The UC IPM program has recently put out a new publication on lady beetles. What is great about this Quick Tip Card is that it also shows the dreaded Western Spotted Cucumber Beetle, which some refer to as the green lady beetle. Unfortunately, for many of you who grow squash and related vegetables, this beetle is a bad guy. They can do a lot of damage on pumpkin, squash and cucumbers. Have a look and get to know it by sight, and learn how to manage it before it becomes a nuisance in your garden.
The Quick Tip Card displays excellent pictures of the lady beetle as a pupa, an egg, and a larva-which we might think looks like a bad guy, but really is a good guy. I think they just look like little red and black alligators!
Here is the link to the Quick Tip Card on Lady Beetles: http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/QT/ladybeetlescard.html. You might print it out and go into your garden and have a look around. You could be pleasantly surprised on how many different lady beetles you see in your garden.