What do ladybugs eat?

Ladybugs are beneficial insects divided by diet into predatory, fungus-eating and plant-eating types. The common seven-spotted ladybug is predatory and eats wheat aphids, cotton aphids, scale insects, mites, red spiders, potato beetles and ticks. Fungus-eating ladybugs feed on the spores and mycelia of powdery mildew, while the potato ladybug and eggplant 28-spotted ladybug eat plant matter such as tomatoes, wheat, cowpeas and corn. When keeping ladybugs, clean up food residue and droppings regularly to keep the environment sanitary.