What is prickly … ferocious ... and also  one of the most beloved insects around?

A ladybug.

Well, a teenage one.

And this ladybug larva has something  to teach us about appearances.

Menacing or cute, the ladybug  is a stone cold killer.

There are about 6,000 species of ladybugs.

Also called lady beetles or ladybirds,   they come in varying shades, with different numbers of spots.

Sometimes even no spots.

It’s a myth that ladybugs gain a spot every year,   but those markings are a useful way  to tell different species apart.

Whatever they are, they all start out here.

As eggs laid in neat clusters by their mom.

About a week later these  mini-alligators crawl free.

These larvae have an insatiable  hunger for aphid insides.

The larvae stalk their unsuspecting prey,  feeling around with their sensitive legs.

Though to be honest, the plump little aphids  aren’t exactly a challenge to bring down.

Their main defense is to make lots of aphids.

And I mean a lot.

Sometimes, the ladybug larva starts on  one end of the aphid and eats it alive.

Other times, it’ll just treat the aphid like  a juice box – ditch what’s left and bail.

In the roughly three weeks it  takes the larva to grow up,   it’ll eat hundreds of these scrumptious treats.

It needs to bulk up for what comes next The larva finds a cozy spot  close to its favorite snacks.

It exudes a sticky liquid from its  backside and cements itself in place.

Then, it hunches over and  squirms in rhythmic convulsions.

The larva’s about to say goodbye to  its old goth look and reinvent itself.

It sheds its outer layer, legs  and all, to reveal a ladybug pupa.

An in-between stage where it can spend some time  alone figuring out who it really wants to be.

In the next week, it goes through a major metamorphosis.

When it’s ready to do some adulting,  the full-grown ladybug emerges.

Take that, butterflies!

You’re not the only ones that create  an all new persona for yourselves.

Once it's free, the ladybug’s armored forewings,   called elytra, harden and  develop their color and spots.

Not that spots are required.

Elytra protect the  ladybug’s delicate hindwings,   which it now stretches out  for the very first time.

Those wings open whole new  worlds to a grown ladybug.

Not only can the adults fly from plant  to plant looking for food and mates, but the wings also allow the  ladybug to migrate huge distances.

It’ll eat up to 5,000 aphids  in its adventurous life.

That makes them a true ally, protecting  our farms and gardens from harmful pests.

So don’t be fooled by that candy-apple coating.