Is this a good guy or bad guy?

[Kazfam]

Originally Posted by BarbJ

In the picture with the aphids, I'm pretty sure that's not a ladybug(beetle) larvae, it's a Mealy Bug Destroyer.

A Mealybug Destroyer (in the OP's pic it is in the larval stage) is a type of lady beetle:

Like other lady beetles, the Mealybug Destroyer has proven its usefulness as an effective biological control agent.
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/g..._destroyer.htm

Here is a pic of the adult:
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/NE/me...destroyer.html

The lady beetle never ceases to amaze!

[BarbJ]

Oops, yep, you're right, it is a kind of lady beetle. I guess I was thinking of the red w/ black spots kind.

[Kazfam]

Originally Posted by BarbJ

Oops, yep, you're right, it is a kind of lady beetle. I guess I was thinking of the red w/ black spots kind.

BarbJ - I owe my understanding to my son, a self-taught amateur entomologist. He helps me so much in my garden - deciding on what bugs are good and what to dispose of.

There are good and bad lady beetles. A bad one would be the Mexican Bean Beetle...we've gotten rid of a few of those this year by hand picking.

We have a good time out there in the vegetable garden...always learning.