the anatomy and life cycle created by dan mongan
the anatomy and life cycle
the anatomy and life cycle
created by dan mongan umsl Saint Louis, Missouri
Copyright Š 2014 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic process, or in the form of a photographic recording, nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise copied for public or private use without the written permission of the publisher. First printing Published in the United States by umsl fab One University Boulevard Saint Louis, Missouri 63121 Published in the usa
For insect lovers
Life Cycle 1 Anatomy 11 Fun Facts 15
Foreword I am fascinated by this very tiny creature. For such a compact size, it’s amazing its a living thing. It’s fascinating that its very small size had a beginning of something the size of a raindrop and then, with proper environment, not made by man, developed into a living species. Not one step of its development is skipped. Not one stage of its growth is rushed or hurried. Its maker even went so far as to create a hard shell to protect its fragile wings that are meant for flying. It’s amazing how one body part, an antenna, serves the purpose of to feel, smell, and to taste. Even before the development of this spotted character is finalized, each stage is important. Like a living person, this insect starts its life in an egg. How
amazing it is that one female can lay 1,000 eggs in her lifetime…nothing profound to this insect world, but astonishing to this human being. Unlike an unborn human baby that depends on its mother for nutrition, each stage of this little creature automatically depends on itself to find food during the larvae stage. Without having an engineering degree, this little living creature knows when to stop moving, attach itself to a leaf, and wrap itself up like a gift only to present itself to the world as adult ladybug. But that’s not all! In a matter of hours, its soft pale shell becomes hard and bright in color and comes in more than 4,000 varieties. When observing such a miracle I can’t help but be amazed by its Creator.
Life Cycle
Life Cycle
1
EGGS STAGE
The male and female ladybug mate in the spring. Then the female ladybug lays bright yellow eggs, in a row, on a leaf.
Fun Fact: A female will lay as many as 2,000 eggs in its lifetime.
LARVAE STAGE
Tiny larvae hatch from each egg and go off searching for food. They are black with tiny spines and many sections. Hatching takes place after 3 – 5 days, which is fairly quick. Larvae have six legs and are about ¼ of an inch. The whole process from egg to adult can take about 24 days.
3
Fun Fact: They eat other bugs; aphids, mites and mealybugs.
Life Cycle
5
PUPA STAGE
The larva’s body grows bigger but its skin does not. The larva molts when the skin becomes too tight. After three or four times of molting it then sheds its skin once more. It is now a hard case and it’s called a pupa.
Life Cycle
ADULT STAGE
In about a week the case splits open and an adult ladybug crawls out. Its body is yellow, soft and moist. After a few hours, the colors change and its shell gets hard.
7
Anatomy
Anatomy 4
1
5
6
3 2
8
7
11 Ladybugs are less than ¼ of an inch, oval or round shaped and have six short legs. Their solid color and patterns are to warn predators of the bad taste and poison of the ladybug. 1 2
Antennae Head
4
Pronotum Legs
5
Elytra
6
Wing Abdomen Eyes
3
7 8
The antenna helps the ladybug to feel around, to smell and taste. The head is round and thin. It includes the ladybug’s eyes, antennae and mouth. The pronotum protects the ladybug’s head. The feet of the ladybug help it smell and when captured by a predator, a poisonous gel will ooze out of the legs. The elytra covers and protects the wings and the pattern is exact same on either side. Ladybugs can flap their wings 85 times in one second. The legs and wings are attached to this section of the ladybug. The ladybug has two eyes and can only see the difference between light and dark. They cannot see color at all.
Fun Facts
They ar e preda tors, th h u nt a n d ey feed on other animals and inse cts.
Fun Facts
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COLOPHON This book was created and designed with Adobe Illustrator and InDesign CS6 under the supervision of Jen McKnight as an assignment for Advanced Problems Graphic Design 2 in the Spring of 2014 at the University of Missouri – Saint Louis. The main typeface for this book is Quaver Sans. Other typefaces include Klinic Slab. The illustrations were created by Dan Mongan.