Life Stages

The ladybug, like all beetles, undergoes a complete metamorphosis during its life. The life stages of the ladybug are: egg - larva - pupa - adult.

A female ladybug will lay more than 1000 eggs in her lifetime.

Female ladybugs lay tiny eggs, usually laid in a small mass. The larvae that hatches from the egg is small and long and has 6 legs. As it rapidly grows, the larva molts several times. After reaching full size, the larvae attaches itself to a plant leaf or stem. The larval skin then splits down the back, exposing the pupa. The pupa is about the size of the adult but is all wrapped up, protecting the ladybug while the it undergoes metamorphosis into its adult stage. This last stage in the metamorphosis takes a few days.

Ladybugs make a chemical that smells and tastes terrible so that birds and other predators won't eat them. This odor is so faint that you can't smell it unless you've got a lot of ladybugs (hundreds!) in one place. This chemical smells and tastes terrible, that even birds and other predators wont eat the ladybugs.

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December 2008

Created by Melinda Peters