Spotted Pink Lady Beetle

This little "ladybug" stood out in the late afternoon sun because of its distinctive pink background color, highlighting the black spots.  It was, of course, really a beetle (coleoptera), distinguished from true bugs (hemiptera) by the hardened wing covers (elytra) that meet in a straight line on its back.

Red form - Mike Quinn CC

Our pink spotted ladybug, Coleomegilla maculata, has a lot of variation in the background color.  Although Wikipedia states "Over most of its range the species is pink in coloration," a quick survey of the pages of photographs of C. maculata on Bugguide shows over 90% of the images are shades of red to dark orange.  In contrast, most of our Bull Creek specimens are pale pink.  They all share the distinctive markings with 6 black markings on each wing cover and two large triangular black patches on the thorax.

Larva or monster?  - Beatriz Moisset

They begin life as an egg, one of 200 to 1,000 that a female will attach to plants in groups of 8-15.  The larvae look like prehistoric long-legged alligators and they may travel up to 12 meters looking for food.  They are omnivorous, taking in aphids, insect eggs, and mites as well as pollen, nectar, honeydew and occasionally other lady beetle eggs and larvae.

Most of the eggs and larvae won't survive to adulthood, one of many of the underappreciated tiny insects making up the food web.  Those that make it will molt 4 times before attaching to a leaf and forming a pupa.  They will emerge 3-12 days later as an adult and either mate to start the cycle again or crawl under leaf litter and other places to ride out the winter.

These are the farmer's friend, attacking aphids on corn and other agricultural crops.  Planting dandelions between corn rows attracts the beetles which then move over on to the crops to feast on pests.  Planting dandelions!  Go figure.