AbigailParker

This is one of the very few spp. of Scymnus that can be identified from a dorsal photo alone. The long, narrow triangular dark area on a light brown background is very distinctive.

The double-branched spines of the shed larval skin, visible at the rear of the pupa, are diagnostic for this species in North America.

It's okay, bayucca! :) This does look very much like P. 14-punctata, and I had to do a lot of research to find out what it really was.

my first thought was also Propylea but it doesn't quite match. I think it's Adalia decempunctata. They look a lot alike though!

Ladybird beetle larva, family Coccinellidae, appears to be subfamily Coccinellinae and tribe Coccinellini. I will try to find out the species.

Thank you! I was blacklighting for beetles with some really hard-core coleopterists, and even they were impressed by the beauty of this moth!

I usually take unfamiliar pupae home with me and let them eclose in captivity so I am guaranteed to know what they are :)

I think it is a Coccinella species, and the pupae of C. septempunctata do vary considerably in markings and overall dark/light contrast. It's definitely not Hippodamia convergens or Cycloneda munda (I was hoping for C. munda but that species has a very "leggy" pupa and different markings on the 4th abdominal segment.)

Amazing cycle of life! The larva is Cycloneda munda, the Polished Lady Beetle.

The Latin name means "14-spotted" and that's the common English name (it used to say 16-spotted ladybird in Wikipedia, but I just fixed that! It's never been called the 16-spot to my knowledge.) In continental Europe it is also called the Chessboard or Checkered Ladybird.