Like Butterflies the Ladybugs life cycle also consists of four stages i.e. eggs, larva, pupa, and adult ladybug. Here are some pictures that show the different stages of a ladybug life cycle.

Female ladybugs lay their eggs on the underside of leaves. The eggs are laid in cluster of 10 to 15 eggs. A female ladybug will lay more than 1000 eggs in her lifetime. They don't have any specific host plant, but lay eggs on plant where the larvae food, mites or aphids exist. The eggs hatch in about 3-7 days depending on species and temperature.

When the eggs hatch, the eggs shell become the first food of the larvae. After that, they will look for tiny mites or aphids. Newborn larvae look like tiny alligators with small spikes. After a few days, the larvae will be large enough to begin to molt (shed their skin). The larva molt several times (5-7) before pupation. The larva stage last for about 10-14 day. Below are the pictures of larvae of different types of ladybugs.


On maturity, the larvae attaches itself to a leaf or stem.. The larval skin then splits down the back, exposing the pupa. During the pupa stage, the larvae are going through a metamorphosis into a ladybug. The pupa stage last for about 5-7 days.


When the metamorphosis is complete, the skin of the pupa will split open and the full grown ladybug will emerge. The newly emerged ladybug is soft and spotless and have pink or pale color. As the shell hardens, the spots and prominent color of ladybug appears.