Are ladybugs attracted to bright colors?
With regard to ladybugs, they prey preferentially on red aphids against a green background (Losey et al. 1997), so there appears to be a benefit (to aphids) of matching their background (green aphids were consumed at lower rates). However, I doubt it’s the colour of the plants so much as the availability of suitable prey — in my garden, I frequently see them on green foliage of my trees and bushes. Reference: Losey JE, Ives AR, Harmon J, Ballantyne F & Brown C. 1997. A polymorphism maintained by opposite patterns of parasitism and predation. Nature 388: 269-272. Some butterflies are attracted to bright colours, but milkweeds are apparently favourites for some species and many milkweeds have rather plain flowers. More important for butterflies is the chemical constitution of the plants, because they often visit plants not only for their nectar, but also to find suitable oviposition sites for their offspring – if the plant contains chemicals that the larvae cannot deal with, the female
