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It is lady beetle season here. There are dozens of the larvae in our garden, so we collected some up and have been watching them, and feeding them aphids and mealy bugs. The larvae moult several times, getting larger each time.
Lady beetle larvae
We weren’t sure what species they would be. We didn’t find any kind of overview with information about the species that are in NZ, which are both native and introduced. It is especially difficult to find information about the larval stage.
After a couple of days, the first few larvae started to pupate. The pupa was a yellowy colour, later becoming much darker – almost black.
Pupating larvae on left, larvae on right
One evening, about a week later, the first beetle hatched. At this stage it was a pale cream colour.
Emerging from the pupa stage
Pupa after a beetle has emerged
By the morning it had turned the classic red and had two black spots. So probably, we have Adalia punctata. We now have about 8 beetles, apparently all of the same species.
We have since found a little more information, including this paper here. There is also information on the Coccinellidae family on Wikipedia.
The beetles don’t seem to be quite so keen on the mealy bugs, but are enthusiastic about the aphids.
Ladybeetle and aphids, on a rose bud
And we now have several bright orange clusters of lady beetle eggs. Quite a few clusters of eggs were laid, but also quite a few of those were eaten by the beetles themselves. Lady beetles are described as ‘voracious’ feeders, with some eating 1000 aphids in a life time.
Cluster of lady beetle eggs
The whole life cycle was quite quick and we can recommend these as a species to try, if you would like to keep some insect pets.
Life cycle of the 2-spotted lady beetle. A, the adult beetle.
B, group of eggs on under surface of a leaf.
C, a young larval beetle covered with white wax.
D, the full-grown larva.
E, the pupa attached to a leaf by the discarded larval skin
While out and about recently, we have been uploading a few photos of plants and animals that we have seen to a web site called ‘Project Noah‘ – the Noah stands for ‘networked organisms and habitat’. Backed by National Geographic, Project Noah is a citizen science project documenting the worlds organisms.
Opening screen for Project Noah
You can use an iPhone or Android app to upload a ‘spotting’ while you are out, or, you can use the web interface of a computer to upload photos. Videos can also be included, along with notes and links to further information on other sites (Encyclopaedia of Life, Wikipedia). You can even request help with identification of your find.
Screen for data entry
The ‘field guide’ mode shows you the species that other people have found nearby. Once you find something relevant, there is often a link to additional information. It is also possible to ‘follow’ other participants, and to make comments on other peoples spottings.
Some of the arthropod species recorded nearby
Part of the goal of the app is to enable people to contribute sightings that are of particular interest to researchers. This ‘citizen science’ aspect is supported by the ability to assign photos to any relevant ‘missions’. Some of these are location based (e.g. Biodiversity of the Galapagos), while others are more focused on a particular taxonomic group (e.g. Monarch Migration). And what’s more, anyone can download the data for a mission.
Something we have found frustrating is that it is apparently not possible to search all the missions. Only some missions appear on the list you can look through. We have only discovered some of the most relevant missions to where we are (Christchurch, New Zealand) by noticing a mission link on someone else’s spotting.
You can also create your own missions, although we have been reluctant to start a new one until we can determine what is already underway nearby. This would be a great tool for a BioBlitz project.
Some of the current missions current
Nevertheless, we are enjoying the challenge to find and document more species while we are out and about. Here is our favourite find so far – an Australian leafroller tachinid fly, introduced to NZ for biocontrol of some apple moth pest species (although we are not entirely confident that we have the correct identification).
Sighting for Project Noah ‘Flies!’ mission
The youngest and most eagle-eyed of us spotted a jumping spider making a meal of a fly. The fly had landed in the middle of a window pane and spider grabbed it. An impressive feat.
This spider has six eyes. The pair at the front move in tandem and give the spider 3D vision for approaching and catching prey.
The next day, the dried husk of the fly was on the window ledge and the spider was back patrolling the windows.
Chaos - it's not just a theory... 