What is this red and black bug on my avocado tree leaf?

May 7, 2021 7:19 PM

I have 2 small avocado trees in my backyard in the San Francisco Bay Area (each less than 5 feet tall). Today I noticed a mostly black, with some red, insect on a leaf of each tree; when I started pulling one off, one end of the bug seemed to stick to the leaf. I've uploaded a picture of it. What is it? Is it bad for the trees?
posted by mistersix to Home & Garden (4 answers total)

Best answer: Thats a ladybird beetle (aka ladybug) nymph. There are several species it could be, all are beneficial to your avocodos in the short term. They are there bc they are eating bugs that eat your avacados, likely aphids, though the prey critters may be too small to easily see with a naked eye.

Ignore and/or wish them luck! At least stop messing with them, they are on your side here.
posted by SaltySalticid at 7:24 PM on May 7, 2021 [5 favorites]

Best answer: Definitely a good thing!
posted by gryphonlover at 7:33 PM on May 7, 2021 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Nice! I have seen grown ladybugs around the trees too. Thanks.
posted by mistersix at 7:38 PM on May 7, 2021

Well, it's *maybe* a good thing. There are lots of invasive Asian lady beetles (which you can basically identify by their head markings when they are adults), and in theory, they may infest your house in the winter.

That said, we have them at my place in Oakland (which I rent), and they've never come in, so I've just been enjoying baby ladybug season every year for a while. The next door neighbor's tree is totally overrun with aphids, so we get quite a few. Super fun to watch the life cycle.
posted by ktkt at 12:36 AM on May 8, 2021