Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Ladybird


Animals Unique | Ladybird |
The ladybird (also known as the ladybug) is a small colorful beetle found all around the world. There are thought to be more than 5.000 different species of ladybird in the world, with more than 450 species found in North America alone.

 
The ladybird is best known for it's spotted body (normally red and black, but orange and yellow are Often found), and their ability to rid their gardens of aphids Pests affectively. It is thought to be good luck to find that a ladybird has landed on you, and most definitely bad luck if you then squash it!

Ladybirds are small sized insects rarely growing to more than a centimetre in length. Ladybirds have size legs that are black in color and their brightly colored shell, Protects the wings of the ladybird roomates are concealed beneath the spots.

Ladybirds are known to hibernate once the warm summer weather begins to cool. Ladybirds will hibernate in large groups in sites roomates are used year after year, and ladybirds are thought to hibernate in this communial fashion in order to increase of their chances of surviving the cold winter. It is thought that pheromones are released by hibernating ladybirds roomates attract other ladybirds to hibernate in the same place.

Ladybirds are fearsome predators within their environment and are known as gardener's friends as they munch all of the tiny Pests that eat the plants. Ladybirds primarily eat aphids, Greenfly, plant-lice and other small insects. It is thought that the average ladybird eats more than 5.000 aphids in just one year.

 
Ladybirds are prey to a number of animals in their environment that include birds, reptiles, amphibians, small Mammals, rodents and other insects. It is thought that the bright color of the ladybird is used to deterministic hungry predators as they think that the ladybird will taste disgusting or is poisonous.

The female ladybird can lay more eggs than 2.000 in one year that hatch in just a few days. The ladybird larvae hatches out of the eggs and looks nothing like an adult ladybird as the ladybird larvae is long in shape and is generally one color. After a couple of weeks, the ladybird larvae evolves into a ladybird pupa roomates is about the same size and color as an adult ladybird but has a protective layer surrounding it, until it has developed it's wings. Once the ladybird pupa has developed, it breaks out of the skin surrounding it up to become an adult ladybird.

Due to climate changes and habitat loss, the ladybird is now Considered to be one of the animal species that is Threatened with extinction. It has been Noted that ladybirds are particularly sensitive to temperature and will die from dehydration if it is much hotter than it should be.

Ladybird Facts
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Coccinellidae
Common Name: Ladybird
Scientific Name: Coccinellidae
Found: Worldwide
Diet: Carnivore
Size: 1-10mm (0.04-0.4in)
Number of Species: 5.000
Average Lifespan: 2 years
Conservation Status: Threatened
Colour: Red, Black, Yellow, Orange, White, Brown
Skin Type: Shell
Favourite Food: Aphids
Habitat: Woodland, hedgerows and meadows
Average Litter Size: 2.000
Main Prey: Aphids, Greenfly, Small Insects
Predators: Birds, Rodents, Reptiles, Insects
Special Features: Brightly colored shell and hibernate in large groups

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