I came across this beetle while pruning my garden. Which one is it? Is he harmful? The only advantage is that he eats lice. That’s what the photo shows.
Answer
Dear Freddy,
you indicate it yourself, this insect is useful and eats aphids. It is a larva of a ladybug (family Coccinellidae). Both the adults (adult beetles) and the larvae are predators or robbers and feed on all kinds of insects. This is the larva of the multicolored Asian ladybird Harmonia axyridis. Ladybug adults can easily consume up to 100 aphids per day. In addition to those aphids, other small insects are also on the menu. The larvae also largely feed on aphids; by the time the larva is fully grown, it has already eaten several hundred aphids. Ladybugs are traded commercially worldwide and are used as biological control agents in greenhouses and orchards for the control of aphids.
kind regards,
Hans
Answered by
Hans Casteels
identification of pest insects in agriculture and horticulture, stock goods and homes
Burg. van Gansberghelaan 96 box 1 9820 Merelbeke
http://www.ilvo.vlaanderen.be
.