Ladybug beetle (Propylea dissecta)

A very popular and well-known beautiful insect in the world of macro photography is the ladybug or ladybird beetle. In the nature of our rural Bengal, especially among the green leaves of the garden, this small red insect easily catches the eye. Although the mating scene of the insects you have taken is known as ladybug to the general public, it is actually a special species of lady beetle.

​Scientific name:
According to the scientific classification of biology, the scientific name of this specific species of ladybug is Propylea dissecta. In 1850, the French entomologist Mulsant was the first to complete the scientific description and naming of this species of insect.
​Family and Genus:
This insect is a wonderful member of the Insecta or Insect class of the Arthropoda order of the world's vast animal kingdom. According to the classification made by scientists, they belong to the Coleoptera order. Their family name is Coccinellidae and their genus or genus name is Propylea.

​Size and body structure:
These lady beetles are quite small in size and have a very high and rounded back. The length of a full-grown insect is usually only 5 to 6 millimeters. The main color of their hard cover on the back or elytra is reddish-orange or bright red and there is a clear black line right in the middle. In addition, some beautiful black spots or spots can be seen on both sides of the back. Interestingly, even within the same species, there is quite a bit of variation in color and spots or polymorphism in adult insects, as a result of which some insects may look a little pale.

​Inhabitation and habitat:
This species of ladybug is mainly an insect native to South Asian countries. They are most commonly found in the nature of Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Nepal. They roam freely in the fertile farmlands, vegetable gardens, or orchards of beautiful rural environments like Gurdaspur in our country. Especially if you look closely at the young leaves of Malta, lemon or other fruit trees, you can easily see such beautiful insects. They usually prefer to bask in the sun on the leaves of trees during the day or look for prey.

​Food:
Although they look calm and beautiful, these ladybugs are completely carnivorous and very monstrous predators. They do not usually eat leaves of trees, but their favorite food is harmful aphids that attack the leaves of trees. They live by hunting and eating a large number of different species of aphids every day.

​Reproduction:
A very important stage of their reproduction or mating scene is beautifully and perfectly depicted in the macro photos you took. Their reproduction process is quite interesting. Usually, males mature for reproduction in 7 days after birth and females in 9 days. The mating period is the longest among adult insects. Sometimes their mating process can last up to 275 minutes continuously, which is quite rare in the insect world. After mating, the female insect lays eggs on the leaves and a new generation of larvae is born from there.

​Benefits:
Ladybugs are a unique blessing of nature for farmers and gardeners. They work as natural pesticides or biological pest controllers. Aphids usually cause serious damage to plants by sucking the sap of crop leaves. And these ladybugs ensure the protection of plants by hunting and eating those harmful aphids. Their presence in the garden means that plants are naturally protected from harmful insects.

​Harmfulness:
These ladybugs do not have any kind of harmfulness or harmful aspects for humans, agricultural crops or nature. They do not damage the leaves or fruits of crops and do not bite humans or spread any pathogens. They are completely environmentally friendly and a very beneficial insect for our ecosystem.

I hope you like the information.

I learned about them from various sites including iNaturalist, Wikipedia and Google.

(All posts are written in Bengali and translated into English using Google Translate.)
.
.

Camera Used	Samsung SM-G973F
F-Stop	F2.4
ISO speed	ISO
Focal length	26mm
Flash	No
Editing app	Lightroom
Photography	(Propylea dissecta)
Photographer	Hive account@mshbd
Location	Purulia, Natore, Bangladesh