Can someone please identify this insect?

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Megamunchers Sugar Land, TX Sep 13, 2013

Hello,

Could someone please identify the insect in the photograph? I spotted it on the leaves of my eggplant this evening. they moved around slowly and did not fly off when i approached, or flicked them with my finger.

Thank you in advance.

Thumbnail by Megamunchers
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Diana_K Contra Costa County, CA(Zone 9b) Sep 14, 2013

That is a juvenile Lady Bird Beetle. AKA 'Lady Bug'.
Fabulous natural insect control, these little puppies eat many many aphids, then transform into brightly colored adults. Do not scare them away, do not flick them with your finger. If you have to move them to a new plant, go slowly and allow them to walk from one leaf to the other. Do not spray pesticides, even "safe" ones. You want these guys (and gals!) in your garden.

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jmc1987 Cascade, VA(Zone 7a) Sep 14, 2013

amazing how radical the changes can be for bugs between the freshly hatched, to adult. I would never have suspected that would have ever been a lady bird

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bluetexasbonnie Geronimo, TX Sep 16, 2013

Based on some of the reading I've done, these larva eat lots more aphids, etc. than the adult version.

Ugly suckers, aren't they?

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Diana_K Contra Costa County, CA(Zone 9b) Sep 16, 2013

Knowing how good they are makes them look a lot nicer than, say... a mosquito!

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