Redder ladybirds are more deadly

Research by the University of Liverpool has found that the redder ladybirds more poisonous. The study by the Universities of Liverpool and Exeter reveals that variation in colour is directly linked to diet in early life, with better-fed ladybirds being more visible and more deadly. Ecologists have long assumed that there are no individual differences between the warning signals of animals of the same species. More recently, however, scientists have identified a variation between individuals' warning signals, but have not known if these differences were meaningful and linked to levels of toxicity. In this study, the researchers reared seven-spot ladybirds on either a low or high quality diet. They measured several effects of varying diet in the maturing ladybirds: body colouration which acts as a warning signal, levels of toxic defensive chemicals, and the relationship between signals and defences. Ladybirds that were fed a high quality diet had greater pigmentation - resulting in redder wings - than less well-fed ladybirds.