How Can You Tell How Old a Ladybug Is?

By Staff WriterLast Updated March 24, 2020

Adult ladybugs only live for three to nine months. The spots fade slightly as the ladybug gets older. The number of spots on a ladybug indicates its species, not its age. So, seven-spotted ladybugs have seven spots their entire adult lifetime.

Ladybugs go through a complicated lifestyle. They hatch from eggs as a larvae, which resembles a small caterpillar. They live as caterpillars for one to three weeks, after which they form a pupae. The pupae remains motionless for one to three weeks, and then the adult ladybug emerges from the pupae.

Ladybugs eat aphids and other insects. When temperatures drop, ladybugs may invade homes looking for a warm place to hibernate.