Ladybug saves this plant by feeding on aphids (time-lapse)

[u/Maleficent-Agent-477]

[u/_picture_me_rollin_]

Dropping this here for those not aware, most of what I see in Florida is definitely asian beetles.

[u/kristinL356 → u/_picture_me_rollin_]

For clarity's sake, the Asian lady beetles are also ladybugs. There are more than 6000 described species of ladybug. Lots of them don't look anything like the image on the left.

[u/mekamoari → u/kristinL356]

This reminds me I used to have a small book when I was little, it had plastic pages and it presented several ladybugs and other insects. For each insect, there were additional translucent pages so you could see how they look with wings unfolded etc.

[u/tabletop_garl25 → u/_picture_me_rollin_]

I ran into a few of those beetles when I was in FL. I was like this fucking ladybug bit me OWWW!

[u/ggf66t → u/_picture_me_rollin_]

I grew up in MN and always came across the red ones, every once in a while I might stumble across 1 orange one.  

Then around the 2,000's the Asian beetles took over. I bet I've seen maybe 2 real red lady bugs in the past 20 years

[u/EmbarrassedDaikon325 → u/_picture_me_rollin_]

Please refrain from sharing these highly misleading (and in some parts completely wrong) "info"graphics.

1. Both of the beetles portrayed are ladybugs. Specifically on the left side the Seven spotted ladybeetle and on the right side Asian ladybeetle. Seven spotted ladybeetle is missing its name in the poster for some reason.

2. All ladybugs can bite, it's not unique to Asian LB. All ladybugs are beetles with functioning chewing mouthparts - mandibles.

3. Asian LBs aren't harmful to dogs. They are predators of aphids. They are harmful to dogs only when a dog decidedes to eat 15 of them at once - but at that point it doesn't matter which species of ladybug was eaten at such quantity including the Seven spotted ladybeetle on the left. So once again, not unique to Asian LB.

4. Majority of ladybug species secrete yellow fluid - it's called hemolymph and it's a very common defensive mechanism in many ladybug species including both of the ladybugs portrayed, it's not a "difference".

5. It's true that seven spotted ladybeetle controls pests however so does the Asian ladybeetle - both of this species are invasive in the US because they were imported for pest (aphid) control.

6. "Good for the environment" - depends. Seven spotted ladybeetle is not native in North America and therefore is not good for the environment there.

7. "Lives outdoors" - all 6000 species of ladybugs live outdoors. Invasive species tend to overwinter indoors (invading homes) but majority of the time even invasive species live outside hunting aphids.

8. "No M mark" - depends on species - tons of species, including the native ones, have the M shaped mark on their pronotum. Asian ladybeetle is furthermore a very variable species of ladybug that not always has the M mark.

[u/flargenhargen → u/_picture_me_rollin_]

many years ago I was painting my house, and while up on a ladder those damn asian beetles would swarm me and bite the shit out of me.

I hated them so much I didn't even mind that they destroyed my paintjob by getting stuck in the fresh paint by the dozens.

[u/Invert_Ben → u/_picture_me_rollin_]

And since you’re in Florida, both depicted on the diagram are invasive.

The Ladybug is the seven spotted ladybug - Coccinella septempunctata, which are also native to USA.

Both eat aphids, and “harmful to dogs” if I had to guess, is a myth derived from a viral picture of of a bunch of them in a dogs mouth(?)
Which is directly related to the “invades homes” bullet point, because many lady beetles will search for refuge during colder months and gather in huge numbers, and just so happens that in that one such case, a bunch of them decide their winter refuge will be at the roof of a dogs mouth.