Mar 17, 2010
The hunters are back.
Ladybugs, aka ladybird beetles, are searching for aphids and other soft-bodied insects.
If you see a ladybug (family Coccinellidae), odds are you'll see her prey, the plant-sucking aphids.
Today we spotted a ladybug in a flower garden on the UC Davis campus and she wasn't there to enjoy the warm sunshine or watch the students go by.
She was there to dine.
The ladybug snared a few aphids, then flipped under a leaf like an Olympic athlete performing a daily routine.
She wasn't going for a gold medal, though. She was heading for another kind of gold--a gold aphid.
Ladybugs, aka ladybird beetles, are searching for aphids and other soft-bodied insects.
If you see a ladybug (family Coccinellidae), odds are you'll see her prey, the plant-sucking aphids.
Today we spotted a ladybug in a flower garden on the UC Davis campus and she wasn't there to enjoy the warm sunshine or watch the students go by.
She was there to dine.
The ladybug snared a few aphids, then flipped under a leaf like an Olympic athlete performing a daily routine.
She wasn't going for a gold medal, though. She was heading for another kind of gold--a gold aphid.
Attached Images:
![SEVEN-SPOTTED LADYBUG crawls along a leaf in a UC Davis flower garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) SEVEN-SPOTTED LADYBUG crawls along a leaf in a UC Davis flower garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/3366.jpg)
Ladybug
![FACE TO FACE with a seven-spotted ladybug. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) FACE TO FACE with a seven-spotted ladybug. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/3367.jpg)
Face to Face
![ARE THERE MORE aphids on the other side? A ladybug flips over. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) ARE THERE MORE aphids on the other side? A ladybug flips over. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/3368.jpg)
Upsy Daisy
![THE END--A ladybug is the one of the most recognizable of all insects, but not in this photo. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) THE END--A ladybug is the one of the most recognizable of all insects, but not in this photo. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/3369.jpg)
The End