Lady beetles, often called ladybugs or coccinellids, are the most commonly known of all beneficial insects. In Europe, these beetles are called "ladybirds." Both adults and larvae feed on many different soft-bodied insects with aphids being their main food source. The convergent lady beetle became Ohio’s official state insect in 1975. Adult lady beetles are domed shaped, oval or convex, often shiny with short legs and antennae. Wing covers are dark, reddish-orange to pale yellow, with or without black spots or irregular marks. Some are solid black or black with a red spot. The head is concealed from above. Lady beetles, both adults and larvae, are known primarily as predators of aphids (plant lice), but they prey also on many other pests such as soft-scale insects, mealybugs, spider mites and eggs of the Colorado potato beetle and European corn borer.