ladybug – News, Research and Analysis – The Conversation

Stink bug sightings are on the rise. In winter, they tend to move indoors to wait out the cold weather. (John Slaney/Flickr)

October 28, 2018

Why there may be thousands of stink bugs hiding under your sofa

Rosa da Silva, McMaster University

With the onset of cooler temperatures and shorter days, some insects pack-up and migrate to warmer climates. Others, including stink bugs, take up residence in our homes.

Sometimes thousands of ladybirds will ‘overwinter’ in the same spot, which experts say is normal behaviour and nothing for homeowners to be alarmed about. David Lovejoy

October 23, 2018

Mythbusting the story of the STI‑carrying cannibal ladybirds

Rachel Farrow, Anglia Ruskin University

According to experts, ladybirds are no more dangerous than they were before.

Some Harlequin ladybugs, *Harmonia axyridis*, have black elytra with two large red spots. Others have two additional red spots backwards, or are decorated with a dozen small red spots. Conversely, there are ladybugs with red elytra, decorated with 20 black spots. All these ladybugs belong to the same species. B. Prud’homme, J. Yamaguchi

October 15, 2018

In red and black, the genetics of ladybug spots

Arnaud Estoup, Inrae; Benjamin Prud'homme, Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS); Junichi Yamaguchi, Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS), and Mathieu Gautier, Inrae

Where do the pretty colours of the harlequin ladybug come from? A single gene draws the colour patterns of this familiar insect.

Ladybugs stop pests from eating our food and destroying crops. Flickr/Inhabitat

March 2, 2017

Conservation efforts must include small animals. After all, they run the world

Michael Samways, Stellenbosch University

Small animals are the fabric of the world around us. Without them everything would crumble.

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