ladybugs are awesome

So i hope this link is working if not let me know will find a way to make it work. like i said before there's 40 ladybug species cataloged in this document with Wikipedia links. there's no need to credit me in case you use this list (because like is just a list I don't feel that entitled to it lol) but i hope is useful to someone out there! if you know certain ladybug species do not feel shy and send me on anon or by message if you want i can add your username by the side of the ladybug name.

Convergent lady beetle

Coccinella septempunctata

Ladybug amigurumi! I revamped a pattern I made last year (one from this post).

Ladybug larva molting

Asian lady beetle

They're incredibly invasive, too- you know how some places in the US complain of massive "ladybug swarms" in their windows in the summer? Well those are usually actually Lady Beetles! :D

Though the can look quite similar, ladybugs have no "M" marking, have fewer spots, are usually symmetrical, and don't invade houses- they are predatory and mostly just eat aphids.

And on top of being rather smelly and invading houses, Lady Beetles are very agressive and can bite!

The M-shaped markings can help identify the Asian Lady Beetle, but other ladybug species also have them, such as the Two Spotted Ladybug or the Painted Lady Beetle, both of which are native to North America and not invasive anywhere else as far as I know. Also, some Asian Lady Beetles don't have the M-shaped mark at all.

All ladybugs are capable of biting* and smelling bad. In fact, personally I've only ever been bitten** or swarmed or had my house invaded by Convergent Lady Beetles, another native North American species. (They're extremely numerous in my hometown, while the Asian Lady Beetle doesn't seem to show up at all!)

As a final note, it's very likely that when you think "ladybug" you think of the Seven Spotted Ladybug, which is kind of the most iconic well-known platonic ideal of a ladybeetle. It's worth knowing that those are ALSO INVASIVE in North America--to a lesser extent than the Asian Lady Beetle, but I'd argue more insidiously, because they are now inextricably tied to this "ladybug vs lady beetle" misinformation. I've seen so many people who believe that Seven Spots are the only "real" ladybug, or even that they're endangered. They're doing fine; the famously endangered "lost ladybug" species is the Nine Spotted Ladybug,*** whom the invasive Seven Spot and Asian ladybugs have largely outcompeted.

Harmonia axyridis

Asian lady beetle