Page 20 - How It Works - Book Of Amazing Answers To Curious Questions, Volume 05-15

How do aphids dictate

ladybird behaviour?

These beautifully spotted insects begin their lives as grisly grubs

nimals’ lives revolve around eating, eat. There is more on the menu than aphids, To defend against bird predators, ladybird
and ladybirds are no different. however. Ladybirds also feast on plant matter bodies are full of a chemical called
A Aphids, or greenflies, are a vital and other insects, but females are more precoccinelline. This is toxic, and their red
source of food for the 5,000 species of efficient feeders. They are significantly larger colour acts as a warning to would-be
ladybird, but aphid colonies swell and shrink than males and are generally more active. scavengers. The quality of a young ladybird’s
rapidly. Ladybirds time their reproduction They use a lot of energy searching for sites diet dictates how poisonous it will be as an
with the growth of an aphid population to suitable for laying eggs, while males mainly adult, which is why ladybirds eat up to 5,000
ensure their offspring will have enough to just spend their time searching for females. aphids in their lifetime.

Pupal stage Mature larva
The larva sheds its After spending three to six
outer layer of skin to weeks feeding intensively and
form a cocoon and the more than doubling in size, the
transformation begins. larva is ready to pupate.

Freshly hatched
The larvae that emerge
are only 2.5 millimetres
(0.1 inches) in size. They
instantly begin to search
for food.

Laying eggs
Ladybirds lay up to 40 eggs at a
Newly emerged time, delicately attaching
them to the underside of a
After seven days of sheltered leaf for protection
pupating, the insect from predators.
escapes its cocoon in
adult form. It quickly
changes from pale
yellow to a glossy red. Mating
After mating, a female ladybird can
store male sperm for three months
before fertilising the egg.

Though harmless to
Hibernation humans, ladybirds
When the temperature drops, contain an alkaloid poison
ladybirds seek shelter in which that is toxic to birds
to hibernate, such as tree holes
or even inside houses.

20 How It Works