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Adults can be encountered from June through the following spring. These dung beetles feed on feces, rotting fungi and tree sap. In spring they lay eggs in chambers at the end of a corridor dug in the soil that is approximately 70–80 centimetres (28–31 in) long, in which feces of herbivorous and omnivorous animals are placed to feed the larvae. They may also feed on litter mold, decomposing fungi and Phallus impudicus.
Propylea 14-punctata (aka. P-14) is entomophagous (insect-eating). It feeds on aphids, Aleyrodidae, Coccoidea, and on the larvae and eggs of some beetles and butterflies. The females lay about 400 eggs; this is necessary as there is often a high mortality among the larvae. The adult beetles overwinter twice.
propylea-quatuordecimpunctata-larva.jpg
A large coccinellid beetle, most commonly known as the harlequin, multicoloured Asian, or Asian ladybeetle. This is one of the most variable species in the world, with an exceptionally wide range of colour forms. It is native to eastern Asia, but has been artificially introduced to North America and Europe to control aphids and scale insects. It is now common, well known, and spreading in those regions, and has also established in Africa and widely across South America.
The larvae hatch early in the spring, as soon as foliage starts to appear. They are easily recognized by their hornlike tufts of hair-like setae. Four toothbrush-like tufts occur along the back, and hair pencils project from the sides at the front and at the back. The body is dark grey to black, and red tubercules are along the sides and back. They have defensive glands at the back, and wipe their setae against them to charge them with toxins.
The Asilidae are the robber fly family, also called assassin flies. They are powerfully built, bristly flies with a short, stout proboscis enclosing the sharp, sucking hypopharynx. The name "robber flies" reflects their notoriously aggressive predatory habits; they feed mainly or exclusively on other insects and as a rule they wait in ambush and catch their prey in flight.
The firebug, Pyrrhocoris apterus, is a common insect of the family Pyrrhocoridae. Easily recognizable due to its striking red and black coloration, it may be confused with the similarly coloured though unrelated Corizus hyoscyami (cinnamon bug, squash bug).
(descriptions from Wikipedia)
