Ladybug Life Cycle: An Amazing Life
Ladybug eggs are very small, oval and pale yellow. The mother ladybug usually lays her eggs on the undersides of leaves to protect them from predators. She will leave her eggs close to food (aphids) so they will have plenty to eat once they hatch. She then moves on. It takes approximately three to four weeks for a ladybug egg to hatch and become an adult.
Baby ladybugs (ladybug larvae) are long and black with orange markings. They can eat up to 50 aphids a day and 400 aphids in a two-to-three-week period. Ladybugs can devour up to 5,000 aphids in a lifetime. After filling their bellies and growing, they attach themselves to a leaf and pupate. In approximately one week, they will transform into an adult ladybug.
