Ladybugs, or lady beetles, are a very beneficial group of insects; a single lady beetle may consume as many as 5,000 aphids in its lifetime. Like many of the brightly-colored insects, ladybugs are distasteful to predators. When disturbed, they may secrete an odorous fluid out of their joints to warn enemies of their distastefulness. Adult females lay their eggs in the vicinity of aphid colonies. The alligator-like larvae are also predaceous.

They are spiny and black with bright spots. Although they look dangerous, lady beetle larvae are quite harmless to humans. Depending on the species, lady beetles go through at least one generation per year, with adults overwintering by hibernating in groups under leaf litter and other debris. Rarely, groups of them may find their way into homes in the winter.
There is a similar, common species of beetle that is a pest, called the Mexican bean beetle. It is very easy to recognize. Adults have a yellowish-orange body with eight black spots on each wing cover. The larvae are also very distinctive, because they have large forked spines across their backside. The Mexican bean beetle is a defoliator of soybeans and green beans.

Other lady beetles, unless extremely problematic, should not be killed since they are very beneficial. The ladybug has large wings under the shell, so they are good at flying. You can see them sticking out in this photo.