Lady Bug

8/7/20 -

David Ciriello of Farmington provided these photos, all taken in Farmington. Jay Kaplan, director at Roaring Brook Nature Center in Canton, tells us about the above photo, writing, “Lady bugs are actually not bugs at all, but beetles. This ladybug is one of the non-native species that were introduced to help minimize damage to farmers’ crops from insect pests. Ladybugs prey on aphids and other small insects. In autumn, these introduced ladybugs will sometimes mass by hundreds, even thousands, on the side of a house and they can sometimes be found inside the home throughout the winter season. Some of our native ladybug populations are now seriously reduced in number.