The Destroyer

I found this tiny white caterpillar which was really just a 2mm speck on this tiny flower head. It looked amazing in macro and I was delighted to find that it was a good one. It is the larva of The Mealy Bug Destroyer, Cryptolaemus montrouzieri, a small black and orange lady beetle. Both adults and larvae feed on mealy bugs and their eggs as well as aphids and other soft bodied insects. They originate in Australia, apparently, which I found interesting.