Ladybird bug

Steganocerus multipunctatus · Order: Hemiptera

Damages trees, gardens or crops. It can damage cultivated crops such as cotton.

Source: Wikipedia

Ladybird bug
Photo: Tracy Robb, CC BY-SA 3.0

The ladybird bug is usually black with bright orange spots but can also be brown without spots. It is native to Sub-Saharan Africa and is found on many indigenous plants and crops. It feeds on a wide range of plants, including cultivated cotton, and can become a crop pest.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

Adults are normally black with bright orange spots, though colour can vary and some are brown without spots.

Source: Wikipedia

More photos

Ladybird bug photo 3
Photo: JMK, CC BY-SA
Ladybird bug photo 4
Photo: Karen Pagel, CC BY-SA
Ladybird bug photo 5
Photo: Karen Pagel, CC BY-SA
Ladybird bug photo 6
Photo: JMK, CC BY-SA

Questions people ask

What crops can this bug damage?

It can feed on and damage cultivated crops such as cotton.

Source: Wikipedia

What does this bug look like?

It is usually black with bright orange spots, but some individuals are brown without spots.

Source: Wikipedia

Where is this bug originally from?

It is native to Sub-Saharan Africa.

Source: Wikipedia

Same family ()

Bark Lice, Book Lice, and Parasitic LiceBark Lice, Book Lice, and Parasitic LicePsocopteraCan damage your homeThripsThripsThysanopteraCan bitePseudoscorpionsPseudoscorpionsPseudoscorpionesHarmlessDead-nettle Leaf BeetleDead-nettle Leaf BeetleFasta fastuosaDotted Paropsine Leaf BeetleDotted Paropsine Leaf BeetleParopsis atomariaDamages trees, gardens or cropsAustralian CockroachAustralian CockroachValidiblatta australasiae

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steganocerus

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

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