Your image illustrates a ladybug larvae AND a ladybug pupae. All you need in that picture is the adult and some eggs, and you'll have the complete life cycle. The eggs hatch and the little alligator looking larvae emerge. They are also voracious feeders of aphids and other small insects. Once the larvae reaches a certain stage of development, it goes into a pupal stage where the larvae quietly turns into the adult ladybug. The insect will shed that pupal shell and the adult will emerge, all clean and shiny...something that you finally recognize.

SO! Don't keep trying to get rid of these, okay?

Dan

Chances are the honeydew from aphids caused a black mold. Having aphids resulted in an increase of the ladybeetles to attack the aphid population. Don't kill the calvary as it comes over the hill. ;-)

tj

Trust me, there is no "IF" about the ladybugs. Did you click on the link I attached for you in my earlier post? You'll see plenty of pictures of larval and pupal ladybugs.

When the little larvae enter into their pupal stage, they affix themselves to the leaf so that they don't fall off. The pupal stage is a quiescent one. The pupa is busy churning out an adult ladybug inside that 'shell' and can't hang on by itself. Pupas don't feed on anything during this part of the life cyle. All they do is sit there and hope that some big, bad human doesn't come along and mess with them too much. ;-)

Let's see some pictures of the black stuff and we can probably help you with that.

This spring has been rough on cherries overall in the Pacific NW (the long wet spring was loved by a lot of fungus diseses). If your's are similar to those in the Portland area, I would say probably you are dealing with Brownrot(Monilinia fruticola) causing the death of branch tips (will also get into the plant where flowers were)and the holes in the leaves are Shothole(Coryneum Blight). In landscapes and on the street, this problem can be seen a lot...some cherry types/cultivars are more prone than others.

Schmoo

Oh my, you need to locate a resource who can provide accurate information. Perhaps your county's Extension Service office. Find your county's office with this map: http://www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/

Okay, back to your curled leaves and black mold. Please stay with me; take time to thoroughly digest each step to learn what occurred.

It goes like this:
1. The diagnosis for your cherry tree is most likely aphids on the undersides of the cherry leaves. Those aphids were drinking plant sap and excreting the excess that they didn't need.

2. That excess excreted sap is called honeydew. It's clear and it's sticky.

3. Then, a mold that's ever-present in the air, landed on the sticky stuff, fed on it, then produced the sooty mold (the black stuff) on the leaves. No way was that stuff black spot!

Ladybugs, both adults and youngsters feed on aphids.
The thing stuck on the leaf was a pupa as was already explained.
Please don't try to scrape them loose as you may damage them and end up with a deformed ladybug rather than a healthy one.

So, in the future, when you see similar curled leaves, please unroll them and look at what's inside the curls. Aphids, Lots and lots. Often very small.

The best & safest remedy: Keep alert for curled leaves, then wash off the aphids.

Insecticide sprays likely won't work because they are well protected within the curled leaves.

Oh yes, as was said, the ladybugs don't make holes in leaves.