Ladybug to the Rescue

1 A hundred years ago, harmful insects were killing fruit trees in California. The farmers

tried to get rid of the pests, but nothing seemed to work. They were ready to give up when a scientist visiting Australia noticed that ladybugs ate damaging bugs. The scientist sent the farmers a few hundred ladybugs. The ladybugs ate all the pests. The farmers’ lime, orange, and peach trees were saved.

2 Farmers still use ladybugs today to help guard their crops from being eaten by harmful

insects. A ladybug has a very big appetite. One ladybug can eat five thousand pests during its

lifetime.

3 A ladybug begins as a tiny egg. A mother ladybug can lay about one thousand eggs under a leaf. When the eggs hatch, the larvae are thin and bumpy. They are black with red

spots. A larva spends most of its time eating. Before long, the growing larva finds a quiet

spot. Its skin becomes dry and hard, protecting it like a cocoon, in the pupa stage.

4 In the pupa, the larva changes from a thin, bumpy insect to a round one with wings and a bright-colored shell. Many ladybugs are red, although some are orange, yellow, or pink.

Most ladybugs have spots. Some can have stripes, while others may have no spots or

stripes!

5 The ladybug’s bright color also helps it survive. When birds see these bright red bugs,

they stay away because they know ladybugs taste bad. Ladybugs know another survival

trick too. If a snake passes by, a ladybug will roll over onto its back. It pretends to be

dead!

6 In the fall, ladybugs crawl under leaves to hibernate. Sometimes large groups of ladybugs

gather together. They sleep through the winter.

7 In the spring, the hungry ladybugs wake up. They fly away to hunt for harmful bugs.Ladybugs fly to our rescue again!