Ladybug larva are often mistaken as pests by gardeners. But don't spray. These ugly bugs transform into those cute ladybugs that are good for the garden. contributed photo ...

The larva’s about to say goodbye to its old goth look and reinvent itself. It sheds its outer layer, legs and all, to reveal a ladybug pupa. An in-between stage where it can spend some time alone ...

Like the ladybug, ground beetles have four stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. The egg, larva and pupa stages live under ground where the larva eat pests that live in the soil.

In the larvae stage the ladybugs are about ¼-inch long with a long segmented black body and orange spots. I think the shape of the larva look similar to that of an alligator.

Ladybugs provide excellent pest control against small insects. To bring more of these fascinating bugs to your garden, you'll ...

He will be especially interested in how the ladybug larvae control the scale over time, because he is hoping they and other beneficial insects might be the answer in the end.

ELLICOTTVILLE — Cornell Cooperative Extension Cattaraugus County’s Master Gardener Program received rare nine spotted lady bugs, larvae and eggs as part of Cornell’s Lost Ladybug project to help ...

Mature ladybugs will feed on 20 to 25 aphids per day, but their late-stage larvae will consume 10 times that number, making them far more effective predators, he said.

The ladybug larva looks like a orange and black alligator, but can consume many aphids while making a complete metamorphosis. (Photo by Alice Cason) Insects are pollinators and predators.

It turns out that the zombie ladybugs keep predators away from the wasps' vulnerable larva, increasing the likelihood that they survive to become full-fledged wasps.

A ladybug with a parasitic wasp's cocoon between its legs. NUTMEG66 / FLICKR The parasitic wasp, Dinocampus coccinellae, infects the beloved garden beetle, the ladybug, in a gruesome scene that could ...