Bug on asparagus that is not an asparagus beetle...

[Arielphf]

One of the people at work had these on her asparagus last year and now they are on mine. Can anyone please identify these bugs? They aren't asparagus beetles because they are soft bodied and squashy but everytime I put 'red', 'black', and 'asparagus', all I get are 'asparagus beetles'.

We also had those large, olive drab colored caterpillars on the asparagus, but I was able to get rid of them (not before they ate all the leaves off the new shoots, grrrr!) but there are so many of these red and black bugs, I'm not sure what to do.

 

[Chuck]

Leave them alone. Those are ladybug pupa.

 

[Arielphf]

:O Oh! I never would have thought that. Well, at least they aren't in my walls. Locally, we've had a really hard time with the Asian lady beetles overwhelming our native populations - and infesting homes in the fall. From my quick search these do kind of look like the Asian lady beetle larvae they pictured. Thank you for the ID!

 

[Beverly]

They are beneficial for your garden so you would want to welcome them. There are many lady beetle larvae that don't look anything like the adults. Some lady beetle larva can be mistaken for mealy bugs, but you can tell the difference because they are always scurrying around very much like the adults and they love aphids, while the mealies don't move around much. If you do a search for lady beetle larvae images, you will be amazed at the variety.