Ladybird beetles
Hosts
Aphids, mealybugs, scale insects, spider mites, whiteflies
Description
Eggs are yellow to orange in color, footballshaped, and are laid in circular clusters of 10 -50 eggs on the underside of leaves or near the aphid colony. Newly hatched larvae are gray or black and less than 4 mm long. They emerge as dark alligator-like flightless creatures with orange spots. Adult larvae can be gray, black, or blue with bright yellow or orange markings on the body. The larvae are elongate and slightly oblong in shape. They undergo four instars before pupating. The pupae are usually brightly patterned and can be found attached to the leaves and stems of plants where larvae have fed and developed. Adults are oval to hemispherical and strongly convex with short legs and antennae. Most species are brightly colored. Body length ranges from 0.8-16 mm. Their colors tell other predators that they are tasteless and toxic. When disturbed, some of them emit a strong smelling yellow liquid as a protection against other predators. Their colors vary from red,
orange, steel blue, yellow-brown, or yellow elytra, frequently spotted or striped with black. They feed
on pollen, nectar, water, and honeydew but aphids or other prey are necessary for egg production.
They are the best-known predators of aphids and are capable of eating up to 50-60 per day and about
5000 aphids in their lifetime.
Conservation
Lady bird beetles are found in most agricultural and garden habitats. Their presence indicates that
natural biological control is occurring. It is important to maintain habitats planted with several flowering
crops. These give the ladybird beetles varied food sources. When food is not available, they tend to
eat each other. Their beneficial predatory behavior and activities are continuous when there is no
indiscriminate use of synthetic pesticides.
Rove beetles
Hosts
maggots' eggs and larvae, mites, worms, nematodes,
and other small insects. Adults tend to be
cannibalistic, eating their own eggs and attacking
other adults when food supply is low.
Both adults and larvae are predators of root
Description
wide, pear-shaped, pale green in color, and are
covered with a gelatin-like material. These are laid
Eggs are tiny, about 0.5 mm long and 0.4 mm
by female adults in the soil among the roots of the
root-maggot infested plants. The eggs hatch 5-10
days later.
The first instar larvae are pale brown, about 1.5
mm long, slender, segmented, and tapered toward
second and third instar larvae are white, have
the anterior. They have large heads. The parasitic
rudimentary legs, and are found within the host
search for a host (pupa of maggot) in the
puparium. Before pupating, a larva will actively
surrounding soil. It will pupate in the pupa of the
maggot by entering into its cocoon and feeding its
contents, and then pupate itself inside for about 3-4
that two or more larvae enter into one maggot pupa
weeks before emerging as an adult. It is possible
Adult rove beetles are brown, reddish-brown, or
but only one will survive and mature.
black or have gray markings on the wings and
abdomen, with slender elongate bodies. Their wing
covers are shorter than the abdomen where most
larvae have well-developed 'jaws' cross in front of
part of the abdomen is exposed. Both adults and
matter but are also found in moist agricultural soils
the head. They live mostly in decaying organic
or in habitats where large numbers of fly larvae live.
When disturbed, they run very fast, with their
abdomen lifted upward, like that of scorpions. Adults
are good fliers as well.
Conservation
around fields for rove beetles love to stay in moist
Provide ground covers or mulches within and
alternative habitats and plant flowering borders,
decaying organic matter; provide hiding sites and
hedges, and other perennial habitats as a source of
food and shelter; and provide protection by not
spraying broad spectrum pesticides.
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