Watch Ladybugs Go From Goth to Glam | Deep Look

Ladybugs may be the cutest insects around, but they don't start off that way. Also called lady beetles or ladybirds, they pop out of their eggs as prickly mini-monsters with an insatiable hunger for aphids. Once they've bulked up, they transform, shedding their terrifying looks, but keeping their killer vibes.

DEEP LOOK is an ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.

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The ladybug is the most beloved insect in the world. With their round candy-apple red body and polka-dot markings, the ladybug is a symbol of springtime and a welcome ally in the garden.

After mating, a single female ladybug will lay dozens of bright golden-yellow eggs right next to her offspring’s future prey.

Four to eight days later, the eggs hatch and the spiky little larvae crawl free. They look like miniature alligators, and they have the temperament to match.

Ladybugs are aphid-eating machines, devouring dozens of the sap-sucking insects in a single day.

--- Do ladybugs bite people?
Ladybugs are capable of biting people using their jaw-like mandibles, but they tend not to. If a ladybug feels threatened, it will typically “bleed” a foul-smelling liquid called hemolymph as a deterrent.

--- Should I buy ladybugs from the store for my garden?
It’s better to welcome wild ladybugs into your garden rather than purchase them. One reason is that the ladybugs available at garden centers are typically taken from their natural habitat while they are hibernating during winter months, which means fewer ladybugs in the wild. Plus, ladybugs sold in stores are typically eager to migrate and don’t stay long in your garden.

--- Why do ladybugs have spots?
Many ladybugs have bright, contrasting colors to warn potential predators that they taste terrible. This is known as aposematic coloration. Ladybugs’ hemolymph “blood” contains a cocktail of toxic chemicals including alkaloids. Predators quickly learn that a ladybug’s conspicuous coloration means they aren’t good to eat.

---+ Find additional resources and a transcript on KQED Science:

---+ For more information:
Ladybugs are Good for Your Garden, The Real Dirt Blog, written by UC Master Gardeners of Butte County

---+ More Great Deep Look episodes:

The Ladybug Love-In: A Valentine's Special | Deep Look

Born Pregnant: Aphids Invade with an Onslaught of Clones | Deep Look

Citrus Psyllids Bribe Ants With Strings Of Candy Poop | Deep Look

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#ladybug #insects #deeplook

[highcotton]

This was so cool, I never knew ladybugs pupated or what they looked like as youngsters. I love watching Deep Look, keep them coming!

[reionj]

I am really glad they feed on aphids, true allies indeed. Amazing creatures, how they are able to fly vast distances, I didn't even know they were carnivores.

[GuagoFruit]

I love the dramatic pause before a ladybug takes flight. Really gives you a moment to appreciate its flight form.

[lysergzeroz]

I really appreciate how the part about how they eat the aphids is narrated with such detail and _relish_

[Albursine-]

I live in the middle of a city with a teensy tiny yard. A few years back we suddenly had a massive influx of ladybugs, which was super appreciated as battling aphids had been a constant struggle for us.
Now we barely have to consider aphid control at all. We surmised that our tiny yard reached some stage of 'lushness' that attracted them and they've been a welcome guest ever since.
<3 those spotted lil' warriors

[giddy]

I figured for a moment that it's a bit weird that the larval and adult form both rely on the same food source but then remembered that the food source is aphid and there's ALWAYS enough aphids.

[wxlurker]

Nothing is as terrifying (as a someone who keeps plants) to see aphids, seeing the ladybugs feast was almost satisfying to watch 😂

[wasyertakeawaythaturmadeofcorn]

Those aphid meal close-ups were intense, especially the juice box one.

[BillyJupiter]

2:54 dude is doing sit-ups after bulking for 3 weeks.

Ladybugs Shred.

[KartikChauhan__KC]

Once again the quality of these videos are just amazing, i wish you guys had a show on National Geographic or Discovery i would have loved a hour long documentary from Deep Look.

[BestOfAnimalss]

I love ladybugs in all their life-stages. I used to catch them and let it walk in my hand. A ladybug is a beetle we all love 🐞 ❤

[KanameYuuki]

The way they deploy their wings look so cool, it is like scifi nature that is just regular nature.

[jakubsolar]

Just when I was a little boy, I've always explored bugs on the school yard, from spiders, bugs, grasshoppers or even stung by bee (the only time I got stung by a bug sting). I of course, found a larva and noticed how it eats none other than parasitic aphids. Knowing that Ladybug does the same I noticed the resemblance.
Then in one book, I figured out that the aphid eating larva belongs to the Ladybug.

[Moranthyst]

It’s always so weird and fascinating when bugs molt and totally different shapes and colors (or even stage) comes out. Also this made me remember one specie of ladybug that ate leaves of crops instead of aphids in my family’s small farm

[molybdaen]

Fun fact: the ladybugs have such a round shell to allow them to attack aphids even if they are protected by ants.
The ants mandribles find no hold and the ladybug can continue its dark work.

[mypal]

The lady bug is the punk high school kid who suddenly got their lives in order and suddenly became a success!

[putateng]

That part of larvae coming out from their eggs is like a scene from an Alien movies

[andreseriliano]

Ladybugs remind me of my childhood, spending my vacation in the countryside. It was the only crawling thing I wouldn't be afraid of. As a kid, I was always fascinated by its beauty.

[AfraidMonsters]

Aphids are like the sheep of the insect world. Very weird. Like a herd that just stands there and groups up.

[darchandarchan]

we had a massive aphid problem in our garden, and it only get better when ladybugs appeared. Thank you, little friends