Twenty Eight Spot Ladybird
Twenty Eight Spot Ladybird
These little beasties start life as one of a cluster of tall pointed yellow eggs, each about two millimetres high and one millimetre across. Typically, they are laid on the underside of a leaf of a foodplant.
The larvae are not true Caterpillars, but are the larvae of a ladybird beetle. The larvae are round and yellow with sparse stiff dark hairs. They feed on various members of the plant family SOLANACEAE, being agricultural pests on:
- Potato ( Solanum tuberosum ),
- Tomatoes ( Lycopersicum esculentum ), and
- Eggplant ( Solanum melongena ).
A wild population is maintained on weeds such as:
They also attack crops from the family CUCURBITACEAE, such as:
The larvae grow to a length of about 8 mms. They pupate on the underside of a leaf.
The adult is round and yellow with 28 black spots, and has a length of about 8 mms.
It is also a pest in: