convergent lady beetle

(Hippodamia convergens)

Conservation Status
IUCN Red List

not listed

NatureServe

NNR - Unranked

Minnesota

not listed

 
convergent lady beetle
 
Description

Convergent lady beetle is a slightly elongated, to ¼ long lady beetle. It is one of the most abundant in North America. It is widely sold by insectaries for biological insect control. Adults are gathered when they are dormant at high elevations in California where they congregate in huge masses to overwinter. Their ability to produce eggs is suspended for several weeks after they are released. During this time they migrate to other areas, making their purchase a waste of time and money.

The body is oval and dome-shaped.

The head is black with three white, connected spots between the eyes. The thorax plate (pronotum) is black with a white margin around three sides and a well-defined, white, dash-shaped spot on each side. The dashes converge toward the head, giving this species its common and scientific names.

The thick, hardened, shell-like forewings (elytra) are orange with up to 13 black spots. When there is a full complement of 13 spots, they are in a 1–4–4–4 pattern. The forward spot is spread over the junction of the two elytra. There is a white spot at the base of each side of the forward spot. Occasionally, the elytra have no spots.

The larva looks like a tiny, blackish alligator with numerous spines.

 

Size

Total length: to ¼

 

Similar Species

 
Habitat

Agricultural fields, forests, gardens. Any place having plants with aphids.

Biology

Season

One or two generations: spring and summer

 

Behavior

The larvae eat about 25 aphids per day, the adults about 56 per day.

 

Life Cycle

In the spring and early summer the female lays an upright batch of 15 to 30 spindle-shaped eggs near their prey. Over the course of one to two months she will lay 200 to 500 eggs. The eggs begin hatching and the larvae feed first on the remaining unhatched eggs then on aphids. In a period of 10 to 30 days, the larvae moult three times, then pupate. The adult emerges 3 to 12 days later, depending on the temperature. Adults live for weeks or months, depending on the availability of food, the temperature, and the time of year.

 

Larva Food

Aphids

 

Adult Food

Aphids, scale insects, and other soft-bodied insects. Sometimes also insect eggs, mites, and small larvae.

Distribution

Distribution Map

 

Sources

4, 7, 24, 27, 29, 30, 82, 83.

3/27/2025    
     

Occurrence

Common, abundant, and widespread

Taxonomy

Order

Coleoptera (beetles)

Suborder

Polyphaga (water, rove, scarab, long-horned, leaf, and snout beetles)

Infraorder

Cucujiformia

Superfamily

Coccinelloidea (lady, fungus, scavenger, and bark beetles)

Family

Coccinellidae (lady beetles)

Subfamily

Coccinellinae (common lady beetles)

Tribe

Coccinellini (black-spotted lady beetles)

Genus

Hippodamia (oblong lady beetles)

   

Subordinate Taxa

 

   

Synonyms

 

   

Common Names

convergent lady beetle

convergent ladybug

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Elytra

The hardened or leathery forewings of beetles used to protect the fragile hindwings, which are used for flying. Singular: elytron.

 

Pronotum

The exoskeletal plate on the upper side of the first segment of the thorax of an insect.

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Alfredo Colon

meshweaver (Family Dictynidae) and convergent lady beetle   convergent lady beetle
MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos
convergent lady beetle   convergent lady beetle

 

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Other Videos

Convergent Lady Beetle (Coccinellidae: Hippodamia convergens)
Carl Barrentine

About

Uploaded on Jun 9, 2011

Photographed at the Turtle River State Park, North Dakota (08 June 2011).

Convergent Lady Beetles (Coccinellidae: Hippodamia convergens) Mating
Carl Barrentine

About

Uploaded on Oct 1, 2011

Photographed at Fisher, Minnesota (01 October 2011). Thank you to Abigail Parker (@Bugguide.net) for confirming the identity of these specimens!

Convergent Lady Beetle (Hippodamia convergens) 12/2011
SCRSubaruWRX

About

Uploaded on Jan 10, 2012

Convergent Lady Beetles congregating near the Butte Creek in Northern California.

 

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Alfredo Colon
8/4/2022

Location: Albany, NY

meshweaver (Family Dictynidae)
Alfredo Colon
8/2/2022

Location: Albany, NY

convergent lady beetle
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Created 3/18/2019

Last Updated:

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