White Ladybugs?

Question

I had a few spottings (ha!) of white ladybugs around my yard, and at first I thought it was a freak thing.. Well, today I was cutting down my phlox and I noticed about 20 of the little bugs, in different stages of life. They look identical to ladybugs, in all stages, only they're black and white (the adults are white with black spots) and they're a little smaller than a regular ladybug. Are these actually ladybugs or something else? The plant they're living on is full of holes, but I don't know if they're eating the plant, or, if like ladybugs, they're the bugs that are eating the plant. Does anyone know what these are?

Answer 1

There are a great many different species of ladybugs in the United States and around the world. While our most familiar kind is the Convergent Ladybird Beetle, a medium sized species with orange wings and black spots on the wings, there is a wonderful variety of sizes and colors in this group. They range in size from the head of a pin to around ½" across. Their colors are from orange to red to black to white. Variations are white with black spots, black with red spots, red with black spots, red with no spots, gray with red head, and others. :)