New Hampshire State Insect
Ladybug (common name) Adalia bipunctata (scientific name) Overview There are over 1,600 species of the very small, colorful, flying beetles called ladybugs (also called the ladybird beetle or ladybird). The two-spotted ladybug was officially designated the state insect of Massachusetts in 1974. It is a popular choice as a state insect: the convergent ladybug is the state insect of Ohio; Delaware, New Hampshire, and Tennessee designated the seven-spotted ladybug in 1974, 1977, and 1975, respectively; and New York designated the nine-spotted ladybug in 1989. The ladybug has a black head, red body, and distinctive black spots on its back. The bug has a yellow–tipped head, a red elytra (the protective wings that cover the flight wings), short legs, and short antennae. The insect’s unusual coloration and spots are designed to ward off potential predators like spiders and birds. A favorite insect around the world, particularly with children, the ladybug is just as popular as the butterfly mainly because of its attractive coloration, its benefit to farmers and gardeners, and its endearing shape resembling tiny little hemispheric domes. Close-up STATUS Official PHYSICAL DETAILS Wingspan: 0.15–0.27 inches (0.4–0.7 cm) Total Length:  0.3–0.4 inches (0.76–1.0 cm) Larvae:  Alligator-shaped and covered in tiny bristles. LIFESPAN 1–2 years HABITAT Diverse habitats including meadows, gardens, and farms. Range: Worldwide Flight period: Fly in huge swarms in winter to hibernate. Conservation status: Although not listed as threatened, the ladybug population is declining in North America and its range is narrowing.  BEHAVIOR These colorful carnivorous beetles will walk, climb, or fly when foraging. They inhabit all areas where temperatures are warm or mild. In harsh winters, they gather in large numbers and hibernate under rocks, under piles of leaves, or in the cracks of trees. When threatened, they will roll over and play dead since most predators look for live prey. DIET Adults: Aphids and other small, soft-bodied larvae and insects Larvae: Aphids, insect eggs, and pollen TRIVIA A predator attack triggers a "reflex bleeding" in which the insect secretes a foul-smelling fluid alkaloid toxin through the joints in its outer skeleton, making it unappetizing prey. Ladybugs are loved by farmers because they voraciously feed on plant-eating pests such as aphids. Each ladybug, on average, consumes at least 5,000 aphids by the time it is 5–6 weeks old.
	Click to enlarge an image Seven-Spotted Ladybug Ladybug Eating Aphids Ladybug Deploying Wings CLASSIFICATION Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Coleoptera Family: Coccinellidae Genus: Adalia Species: A. bipunctata
	Author: World Trade Press

New Hampshire State Butterfly
Karner Blue Butterfly (common name) Lycaeides melissa samuelis(scientific name) Overview The Karner blue is an attractive, small blue butterfly whose life cycle depends on the wild blue lupine flower—it is the only plant on which the butterfly’s caterpillar can feed. Unfortunately, land development has reduced the lupine’s natural habitat, and the lack of wildfires and wild grazing animals have also adversely affected the natural growth cycles of lupines and other wild flowers. For these reasons the Karner blue is classified as an endangered species. The outer wings of the male are silver-blue or dark blue with narrow black edges. The female is grayish brown and blue with irregular bands of orange crescents along her wings’ black borders. Close-up STATUS Official PHYSICAL DETAILS Wingspan: 0.9–1.3 in (2.2–2.3 cm) Larvae: Light green with a darker green central stripe LIFESPAN Average of 11 months HABITAT Sunny fields in the sandy soils of pine barrens, oak savannas, and lakeshore dunes. The habitat must contain the wild blue lupine and other native flowers. Range: Isolated pockets in the Great Lakes region, northern New Jersey, upstate New York, and southern New Hampshire. Flight period: The Karner blue has two broods and flight periods per year. The first flight normally begins in mid-May (when the lupine blooms) and ends in mid-June. The second begins in mid-July and ends in mid-August. Conservation status: Endangered. Although reintroduction and management efforts have contributed to population increases in the past, there have been notable losses in Concord, New Hampshire; New York State; and the Ivanhoe Dunes in Indiana. BEHAVIOR Karner blues fly from early morning to early evening. When temperatures are very hot, rainy, windy, or below 75°F (24°C) they rest in areas protected from the elements. Male Karner blues fly more frequently than females and cover greater distances with their flights. Females spend more time gathering nectar than flying. Grasses are the butterfly’s preferred roosting sites. The Karner blue lays eggs twice a year; these eggs hatch in the spring (after having over-wintered on the host plant) and summer. DIET Adults: Karner blue butterflies eat the nectar of a variety of flowers including rock cress, Virginia strawberry, raspberry, New Jersey tea, goldenrod, blazing star, and butterfly weed. Larva: The caterpillar of the Karner blue only eats the leaves of the wild blue lupine. TRIVIA The Karner blue was first discovered in the 1800s near the town of Karner outside Albany, New York. In the 1940s novelist and amateur lepidopterist Vladimir Nabokov named the subspecies after this site, which remains one of the few isolated places where the butterfly can be found. Nabokov loved the rare and beautiful little butterfly and would visit Karner every year in early June when he drove from Ithaca, New York (where he taught at Cornell University) to Boston. Karner blue caterpillars secrete small amounts of a mixture of sugars and amino acids that provides food for ants. The ants protect the caterpillars from predators and parasites so much so that caterpillars with ant "attendants" are more likely to survive than those without them.
	Click to enlarge an image Karner Blue Butterfly CLASSIFICATION Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Lepidoptera Family: Lycaenidae Genus: Lycaeides Species: L. m. samuelis
	Author: World Trade Press