Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle, Harmonia Axyridis

Day 273: "Something is eating my pussywillow!" Closer investigation gave me the creepin' wim-wams. There were fearsome-looking larvae on several of the leaves, black with orange spots and forked spines, the kind of thing that'd give you a heart attack if you found it walking on your arm. But what were they? I skipped right over the section on ladybugs in my insect books, certain that I'd find it or something related to it on a different page. When that failed, I followed the next reasonable path: I submitted a photo to BugGuide.net, and within 24 hours, one of their experts had identified it as Harmonia axyridis, commonly known as the Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle. It was a "ladybug" after all. This morning, larvae (inset) and pupae (upper) were present on the tree.

BugGuide advises that "very few people encountering one (of the larvae) for the first time would recognize it as a 'young ladybug.' It grows to be larger than the eventual adult size." Harmonia axyridis was brought to the US from Asia as a control for aphids, and was introduced in Washington between 1978-1982. According to BugGuide, the adults are highly variable in colour with spots varying from absent to as many as 18 (no help there!). They also mention that they (presumably larvae and adults) will take "exploratory bites" if handled, and I can personally attest to that as far as the adults are concerned. Shortly after I moved here, I found my shower infested with them one morning, and as I was capturing them for release outdoors, I got nipped. Although I had no idea what they were at the time, I realized in that moment that this was no ordinary ladybug keeping me from my ablutions. And now that I know what they look like when they're babies, I'll give them wider berth.

Chrysomela Confluens

Day 262: I have to admit that I had never spent much time studying bugs until my botany partner Joe began drawing my attention to them. He's keenly interested in the life cycles of butterflies and moths, and therefore likes to check shrubbery when he spots a furled or nibbled leaf. In the course of our adventures, the diverse community of beetles has opened my eyes to a new kind of beauty: those hard-shelled, often colourful individuals who form a vital part of the chain of life.

Many beetles are predatory on other insects. Like Ladybugs, some consume critters which would be otherwise detrimental to plant life (scale, mealybugs, thrips, aphids). Others eat only specific plants or families of plants. Chrysomela confluens (above) is a good example. It feeds solely on alder and willow (a point which helped identify this specimen). Still others consume fungi, and some actually "farm" certain fungal species. Lastly, some maintain a diet of decaying matter or dung which, although a repellent idea from a human perspective, keeps the earth from being buried in waste material. On the flip side, many beetles serve as pollinators, a role for which they are not widely acclaimed.

While the "cute" or imposing members of Clan Beetle get all the press, many less impressive Coleopterae are disappearing from the species census for a variety of reasons, notably the use of wide-range pesticides which affect more than just a target insect. You'd hear about it if the Ladybug population was in decline, but if every Chrysomela on the planet died overnight, the news wouldn't make a one-liner on the bottom of an inside page.