photo by Greg Hofmann

7/11/2005: There are more than 125 species of Ladybird Beetles in California alone. One of the most common is the Convergent Ladybird (Hippodamia convergens) Both adults and larvae eat aphids, mites, and other soft insects. As the vegetation begins to dry out, these insects will leave the valleys to form large aggregations in the canyons and hills of the Coast Ranges and Sierra Nevada.