Ladybird larva

Just shy of 1 cm long and a couple of millimeters wide this little hunter certainly looks like a little alien.Don't worry, it doesn't do any harm to humans, neither does it harm any plant. It does mean business though when it comes to its favorite food: aphids, scale insects and mealybugs.Ladybird larvae are known to eat about 400 aphids before they change into an adult ladybird, that again will continue eating aphids - up to 5.000 in its lifetime. If you have a close look at the picture you can see the aphids in the background, and lots of aphids already sucked dry by this very welcome little helper.