The polished lady beetle (Cycloneda munda) is quite the stunning little beetle, despite its lack of spots. The milkweed that I've planted attracts many aphids, and the aphids in turn attract lady beetles. For us native plant gardeners, we get excited when we find bugs sipping the juices of our plants. That's the whole reason we planted them on! Bugs feed bugs, and those bugs feed birds and many other backyard wildlife species. The genus Cycloneda contains three species in North America, all without spots. Munda is the one species likely to be encountered in Ohio; the other two either live south or west of the buckeye state.
-Tom
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