Tuesday 14 June 2011

How the ladybird got its spots

Ladybird adults emerge spotless from their pupal stage. To be precise, bright yellow and spotless. In a few hours, the black pigment forming their spots becomes more and more visible. This ladybird pupated in my conservatory over a week ago. Yesterday, I noticed it had just emerged, clinging to its pupal case. The top photo was taken at around 5:00 pm. After a day, this Harlequin ladybird has got all its spots, but still needs to blush a bit.
7:00 pm, yesterday
8:30 this morning
4:15 pm today

3 comments:

lotusleaf said...

When it just emerged, it must have looked like a golden beetle!

Antje said...

Oh wow, I've never seen this. Awesome!

Anonymous said...

Thanks this helped me with my homework XD! I had home, how the ladybug got its spots. Thanks soooooooooooo much!