The pink ladybug

Your greatgrandmother probably had a garden. And she probably knew the tiny ladybug you see here. This is one of three variants of native North American ladybugs called pink ladybugs. This one is known as the 12-spotted lady beetle. It is widespread across most of the eastern half of the United States.

Pink ladybugs are beneficial insects. They prey on aphids that can infest garden plants. They also eat insect eggs. A good place to find this sweet little insect is in the sweet corn patch when gathering ears of sweet corn.

The 12-spotted pink lady beetle does not gather in large numbers and try to come inside your house during autumn. It is much smaller than the Asian ladybug that has become a nuisance in America. The pink ladybug's scientific name is coleomegilla maculata.

I photographed this pink ladybug as it crawled on a Connecticut field pumpkin.