Traits: Brightly colored insect with very round body and thickened front wings, usually with spots on them; larvae are usually dark with bands of color and covered with spines.

Habitat: Leaves and stems of plants in forests, shrub thickets, and meadows

Foods: Aphids, other small insects, mites; a few species eat plant leaves.

Eaten by: Warblers, chickadees, thrushes

Do You Know? Also known as ladybird beetles, the adult beetles gather by the thousands and hibernate under fallen branches and rocks.