A List of Different Types of Ladybugs, With Pictures

Have you ever spotted an insect with a tiny, oval body, bright red or orange color, and black spots on top of it? This insect is none other than a “ladybug”. There are many species of this insect, each with a slightly different look. Here is a post covering the kinds of ladybugs you are most likely to see. Go through it, and the next time you spot one, you will actually know which one it is!

Ladybugs, also called lady beetles, are strikingly bright-colored insects. They are mostly found in red and orange. Sometimes we even get to see them with pink-colored bodies. These are round or oval in shape. They have six legs and a pair of antennae, and distinct black spots on their oval or round body.

Around 5000 species of this insect live all over the world. North America has more than 450 species of ladybugs. Even though there are so many types of lady beetles, only a handful of them are commonly seen by the human eye.

Red, orange and yellow ladybugs resting together on green leaves, showing their different colors — Ladybugs are best known for being red, but they also come in orange, yellow, pink and even purple.

Types of Ladybugs

C-mac Ladybug

It is also known as a pink-spotted ladybug. It is found along the Canadian and the United States border region. It is oblong in shape and less than a quarter-inch long. It has a pink or yellow head with a pink body, and black spots covering the body. It is one of the fastest in the group and has a huge appetite. It is a great protector of your garden, as it feeds on Colorado Potato Beetle’s eggs.

Seven-spotted Ladybug

This bug is round and has a dome-shaped body. It has two white spots on its head and seven black spots on its red body. It appears during the spring time. Basically from Europe, this bug made its way to the North East United States in the 1970s.

Asian Ladybug

This insect has its origin in Asia, but it is found widely in the United States as well. It is bigger than most other species, and can be found inside homes, because this species tends to move to warm places during the winter season. It has 5 black spots on its body and comes in various colors like red, orange, and yellow.

Convergent Ladybug

Farmers use this bug to protect their farms from pests and aphids. It has an oval, orange-colored body with black spots on it. It is found in Pacific coastal areas.

A small red-and-black Vedalia-type ladybug

Vedalia Ladybug

It is very tiny, and has a black and red body. This was the first lady beetle to be introduced in the U.S. These bugs were a great help in saving citrus crops in the 1800s from an insect attack.

California Ladybug

This one looks similar to the seven-spotted ladybug. It is smaller than the seven-spotted bug and has no black spots on the body. There is a small spot at the elytra junction.

Twenty-spotted Ladybug

It is yellowish in color and is found in North America. It is a very tiny insect, with a size of 2–3 mm. Unlike other lady beetles, this species feeds on mildew.

Orange-spotted Ladybug

It has a black body with orange spots on it. It feeds on mealybugs and scale insects. It is 3–4 mm in size and has a distinct black outline around the elytra.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many species of ladybugs are there?

There are around 5000 species of ladybugs all over the world. North America alone is home to more than 450 species.

Are ladybugs dangerous to humans?

No. Ladybugs are not poisonous to humans and pose no danger. To protect themselves from predators, they give off a strong foul smell, and their bright red and orange colors act as a warning signal.

Why do farmers like ladybugs?

Farmers use ladybugs to protect their crops from insects and aphids. Ladybugs feed on aphids and other pests, which stops the pests from destroying the crop.

What colors can ladybugs be?

Ladybugs are mostly red and orange, but they can also be pink, yellow, and even dark purple, like the fifteen-spotted ladybug as it grows older.

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Three-banded Ladybug

It is not so commonly found, but it is sometimes seen in Canada and the U.S. It has an orange body with black bands on it. These bands look like the bands on a tiger’s body.

Two-spotted Ladybug

This one has a reddish-orange body and 2 distinct spots on the outer wings. However, this species shows a lot of variation in the number of spots on its body.

A dark ladybug resting on a branch with a thorn

Eye-spotted Ladybug

Spots that look like eyes cover the body of this insect. Each black spot is encircled within a yellow ring, so it looks like an eye and gives the spot an enlarged look. It is commonly found on pine trees.

Fifteen-spotted Ladybug

This is a really interesting bug. When young, it is grayish in color with fifteen black spots on the body. As it grows old, the color of its body changes to dark purple, and so the spots are no longer clearly visible.

Lady beetles are used by farmers as a way to protect their crops from being attacked by insects and aphids. They feed on aphids and stop them from destroying the crop. Humans are in no danger from this insect — ladybugs are not poisonous to people. Nature has, however, given them a strong foul smell that protects them from predators. The bright color of their body, in shades like red and orange, also acts as a danger signal to predators, which keeps the ladybugs from being eaten.

Word	What It Means
Lady beetle	Another name for a ladybug. Scientists prefer it because a ladybug is really a beetle, not a true bug.
Elytra	The hard, often spotted wing covers on a beetle’s back. They protect the delicate flying wings folded underneath.
Aphid	A tiny soft-bodied insect that sucks the juice out of plants. Aphids are a ladybug’s favorite food.
Antennae	The pair of feelers on an insect’s head, used to smell and touch the world around it.
Predator	An animal that hunts and eats other animals. A ladybug’s bright color and foul smell help it avoid being eaten by one.
Species	One particular kind of living thing. There are around 5000 species of ladybug in the world.

A List of Different Types of Ladybugs With Pin-worthy Pictures