I was looking over my favorite azalea today and saw this strange scene. It's an Asian lady beetle larva and pupa on the same leaf... any ideas what's going on? Is the larva eating the pupa? I guess they're both Harmonia axyridis... not sure about that, though.
They're still out there more than three hours later - I'll see if I can find them again tomorrow.
For whatever reason, larvae of this species often have been observed feeding on ladybird beetle pupae, including those of their own species - see http://www.ladybird-survey.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/death.htm#cannibal (scroll to bottom of page).
I saw pics on bugguide, but no one seemed to know if the pupa was being eaten. Here's a pic from this morning - the larva is bigger, and the pupa is just an empty skin.
Thanks a lot, suunto!
