Beetle larvae

Description:

Newly hatched beetle larvae. These are very small - with my naked eye I could not tell these were larvae - I thought it was perhaps bird droppings contaning seeds! Circumstantial evidence suggests these are larvae of Epilachna mexicana, a large leaf-eating ladybug. This same bush hosted a large colony of Epilachna mexicana adults and pupae last year. The plant was all but completely defoliated by the time they were through with it. There are already several adult Epilachna mexicana present this year. However, there were also a number of blue metallic leaf beetles present, so I can't be absolutely sure these larvae are Epilachna mexicana. I hope to keep an eye on them and see how they develop. I will update the spotting when I have more information.