Ladybug Spots and Breeding

Abstract

Ladybugs are common insects in North American gardens that prey upon aphids, making them all the rage in biological pest control. Ladybugs can be bred in captivity making them a good insect to study. Just chop off an aphid infested plant stem for food, make a water soaked cotton ball for water, and add to a small plastic container with a lid to make a breeding box. You can use ladybugs collected from the wild, or buy ladybugs from your local nursery. The most common species is the 12-spotted ladybug, but there are also the seven-spotted European ladybug common in Europe and the nine-spotted ladybug common in Southeastern US. Recently, the Asian ladybird beetle has been introduced as an invasive species and competes with native Some species have a constant number of spots, while others have a variable number of spots in the population. You can breed ladybugs to find out if spot number is a heritable trait. You can also investigate the generation time and reproductive biology of ladybugs.

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Last edit date: 2017-07-28

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