They are there to protect…

Nice photo!

Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, but this one looks more like an Asian Lady Beetle based on the color, spots, and head markings. I only recently learned the difference.

Hello friend :)

I saw what looked like a lady bug on my basil. Turns out it was not a lady bug and it ate bunch of holes in the leaves lol. It got sent to the compost bucket.